The Flame Forever Burning
by Emberlywoods12
Summary: When Pitch lays down the gaunlet to take over the world, the Guardians must rise up against him with the help of Jack Frost. But when a friendly rival, worst then Bunnymund, appears, now the Guardians must watch two hot-headed teens. One literally. Say hello to Jaenirra Flame, Lady Summer. Not an OC slash. Though could have possible pairings.
1. Chapter 1: Captured by the Past

**Hey guys, so this is my first fanfiction ever so bear with me, okay? I hope you enjoy it and I can't wait to hear your reviews.**

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The last thing Jack expected to happen to him, was to be attacked by elves. Yes, elves. Like the kind that build toys and shit for all the little children of the world.

Jack walked down a deserted cobblestone alleyway of Burgess, a small city in Wisconsin or something. He hadn't bother to find out. His ice staff clutched in his pale hand, thrown nonchalantly on his left shoulder, whilst his other hand laid nestled in the pocket of his blue hoodie. Jack's snow hair fell handsomely over his icy eyes, which surveyed the dark street lazily. He was alone, like usual. Ever since the Choosing, that was the way it had been. To be Chosen was both a blessing and a curse. The blessing was quite great really, Jack thought. You get the powers, the gifts, the freedom, the ability to bring joy to all children of every nation. Well, at least for the Big Four. Jack Frost was a known name but it didn't get the glory or the holiday that Jack thought it deserved. And why he couldn't join the Four, he didn't understand. He had been Chosen just the same as they were. Not that he wanted to be part of that anymore. He was over the rejection now but sometimes he would think about what North had said to him.

"Jack, ya need ta look insi' yerself. Figer out how to get hold o' those powers o' yers. Fi' ow yer center."

Jack had scoffed, before arguing that he had full control of his powers, demonstrating this by freezing two unfortunate elves with a angry wave of his crooked staff.

He still didn't get what the large man had been trying to tell him. Gain control of his powers? What the hell was that supposed to mean? He could already conjure up large gusts of wind and snow with a swipe of his staff, paint windows with delicate pixie pattern and bring about the greatest ice storms to last a millennia.

But of course he couldn't.

At least not with **_her_** around.

Funny Jack thought about her at a moment like this.

A small creature scurried out of Jack's line of vision under the dim lighting of a street lamp. He whirled, staff pointed defensively in the direction of the shadow.

Jack really had no reason to fear. He was invisible to all mortal beings. But for some reason Jack felt insecure, threatened and, damn him if he admitted it to anybody else, a little bit frightened. Nobody could see him accept the Guardians themselves and usually when they wanted Jack, it wasn't for tea and biscuits.

And hiding in the shadows, surrounding their prey, wasn't their tactic. No, something else was following Jack tonight. And like the little whisperings of the Moon, something about this situation told him to be wary.

There is was again!

A tiny shadow, small figure, streaking across the alleyway out of the corner of his eye.

And another.

And another.

There was more than one. Great, he was being hunted by miniature shadows.

"Show yourself!" He called out into the night.

Silence.

And then...

_BLAM!_

Jack spun at inhuman speed and blasted a long streak of ice towards a large dumpster. There was a thunk, followed by a small shriek that pierced the cold night air.

Jack almost couldn't help the predatory smirk that would have made the women of the world swoon.

If they could see him, that was.

He crept towards the small patch of darkness. He must be cautious now. No telling what else could be lurking in the shadows.

A lump appeared in the twilight.

There, hat pinned to the wall by an icicle, was an elf. A teeny-tiny one at that. It wore what looked like an oversized maroon dress with a little belt to keep the cloth up. The winter spirit leaned in closer to the strange being which, in return, stared at Jack wide-eyed, heart pumping.

"Please, Mr. Frost, don't hurt mes!" His voice was tiny as well. "We weren't meanings to hurt you. We just needed to askes you about a somethings important."

"We?" Jack wondered.

"Well, you see..." The elf giggled nervously.

With a mighty screech another elf leaped out of the shadows and landed on Jack, sending him reeling to the middle of the alleyway. He swung hard with his staff, hitting the poor little creature with an astounding _crack_! The elf slammed into the wall and slumped to the ground limper than a doll. Jack immediately felt bad. That was before the elf, shaking, got to its' feet and blew a feeble whistle. That was enough. His crystal blue eyes widened. He knew it, deep down in his cold, cool heart, that he was screwed. Big time. An elf appeared out of the twilight. Then another and another and another! And another! He was surrounded. Yep, definitely screwed.

Jack tried to back away but he found little men behind him. He was surrounded, mouse and cat. He almost laughed at the irony of it.

"Look guys, I don't want any trouble. Let's just talk about it okay." Jack was negotiating now, his hands held up in a peaceful gesture, his staff held between his cold fingers. All he really wanted was to get them off guard, fire a few icicles and Bata-bing Bata-bung, he was home free.

"N-no, they have warned us of these traps. We must captures you Jack Frost." Cried one.

Well, crap.

"Alright boys, if that's how you want it?" He shrugged nonchalantly. " Let the games begin!"

Quicker than a sneeze, Jack shot forward, batting little men away with his staff and capturing several in icy tombs. It was a wonderful tactic really, the elves couldn't do anything if he decided to blast them with cold ice, but they had strength in numbers. Whenever he took out five, ten more seemed to replace them. He was being covered with little elf people. They ran down his arms, clung to his legs, bit at his ears and tore at his hair. Jack refused to be beaten by tiny men. He fought with more vigor, whacking away elf after elf with his wooden scepter of power. He began to beat the little monsters back, turning, kicking, icing, using everything he had. Jack could feel it now.

He could take them. In a matter of minutes, a large pile of elves lay on the cobblestone ground. Jack allowed himself a satisfied smile and a smug twirl of the staff.

"All in a day's work." He said, smirking.

But it wasn't over just yet. Something whistled through the air towards the cocky winter spirit. Jack barely managed to dodge the silver knife that sliced past his ear and imbedded itself in the opposite brick wall.

"Again!?" He cried exasperently.

The world must have him in it's-peoples'-lives-to-fuck-with list.

He spun into a disoriented defensive position, shooting a icy projectile in the direction of the knife's source.

The figure simply caught it and cast it aside like a child would discard a bubblegum wrapper, unfazed.

"Now, now, Jackie."

Jack froze. He knew that voice and only one person ever called him Jackie.

"Where are your manners'?" A teenager arose from the shadows. He had carroty hair that fell about his face in a handsomely messy fashion, but they could not hide his grass eyes nor his pointed ears, for that matter. There was something impish about the boy as well. Maybe it was the way he smirked or the clothes he wore, a long sleeved forest tunic, long brown pants with dark leather boots. But he radiated a humor, a very dark humor though. Or it could just be the ears. Yep, Jack decided, definitely the ears. He swaggered towards Jack, a belt of knives glittering evilly as they swayed to and fro.

Jack stood up, leaning on his staff and managing an arrogant smirk before replying.

"Probably where the Devil went, burning with all the other fucks I give but thanks for caring anyway, Pan."

Pan stopped a couple feet away from the frost bringer, wisely out of freeze zone.

"When are you going to stop calling me Pan? It's Pan'nuck, with a _'nuck."_

"About the same time you stop calling me Jackie." Jack retorted.

"Touche."

"Sooooo," Jack started. "What brings you to fine Burgess?" He spread his arms wide, as if to show the great splendor of rotting garbage in an alleyway.

"Oh, you know." Pan'nuck shrugged nonchalantly. "Running errands and shit."

"What, like kidnapping the infamous Jack Frost? And since when did you have Santa's elv-" Jack stopped talking. Of course! He berated himself for being a moron. If ole' Pan was here and so were the elves then that would mean...

Pan'nuck looked at him expectantly, waiting for it to sink in.

"Oh, no. No. No. No."

The elf raised an eyebrow.

"No, Pan! There is no way in hell I'm going. You can't just drag me to the North Pole."

"Yes, Jack, I can." He was serious now. " Fact is, we need you and you need us. There's no way around it."

"You need me?" Jack's blood boiled. "And I need you? No Pan! I've been on my own for three hundred years and I'm doing great without your little bribing traditions." He spat on the ground. The spittle immediately became ice.

Pan sighed, "Well. I hoped it wouldn't come to this." The carrot-haired boy dipped his hand into a small pouch on his belt.

"What're you.." Jack never got to finish his sentence.

Pan blew the golden dust in his palm towards Jack, who crumbled to the ground, snoring.

"Adorable." Pan'nuck remarked, looking down at the sleeping, immortal, white-haired teen.

An elf got up groaning from the pile of similar beings and waddled towards Pan'nuck who glanced down at the little man.

"Now it's time to put yourself to use."

The elf groaned again. This was not going to be fun for him. Pan'nuck thought differently.

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**Hope you liked it! Don't forget to review later to tell me what you thought. You guys are the best!**

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	2. Chapter 2: Lady Summer

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**MusicAnimal {A virtual cookie to you for figuring it out. Yes, I did pull my basic design for Pan'nuck from legendary Peter Pan. Good eye!}**

**You guys have no idea how happy it makes me when you guys review. Hope you enjoy the new chapter! **

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Jaenirra Flame did not like Jack Frost. Not one bit. Honestly, she could gives a rats ass if he jump off a cliff without that stupid magic staff of his keeping him floating. Would do the world a favor in her eyes. In fact, she hated his frozen guts quite a lot. Jaenirra didn't know if it was his disrespectful attitude towards the rest of the Guardians, or the way he swaggered around as if he owned the place with his staff on his stupid, stupid shoulder. Maybe it was his messy, bleached hair or how he acted like he was MiM's gift to female Guardians. You should have seen him the first time he saw Toothaina. Jaenirra didn't think he could be any more flirtatious.

Or the hate could possibly be based on the fact that she and him were polar opposites. Most likely that.

Jaenirra Flame was, in fact, Lady Summer. She was the Bringer of Flame, Guardian of Courage, Comfort and Inspiration.

Maybe you've heard of her?

No?

Well it wouldn't surprise Jaenirra. That wasn't what she was about. The female Guardian was there only to comfort the mortal mind, give them the strength and bravery to carry on, and plant the silver sprouts of an idea, not for glory or fame.

Jaenirra didn't need recognition to know that she was needed or loved by many.

Jack Frost was different.

Maybe this was where they started to disagree. The real reason that they had first disputed had been lost over the centuries of prolonged winters, catastrophic hurricanes and many lost hours of sleep that were spent instead on righting everything that douche bag messed up.

The fiery she-Guardian was very ironically thinking of this in her throne room. Her kingdom was one that rested upon golden-kissed clouds that were tinged pink. Camalia was it's name, city of the sun. Camalians lived here, or Summer fey as they were better known, and they served their Guardian by tending to the white barked trees that grew golden apples. Inside these golden apples were silver seeds, which were planted invisibly in the minds of mortals that stayed grounded on the earth below. Such trees were scattered throughout the throne room in which Lady Summer sat. Brilliant sunlight came through the tall, open stone window sills that stretched from the rose marbled floor to the seemingly mile-high gold enameled ceilings. The scent of cinnamon and other spice filled the room from bronze braziers that burned without smoke. A skillfully woven gold and maroon carpet stretched from majestic chestnut doors down the stunning room to a beautiful teenaged girl of a regal air. Sitting on artfully carved stone throne under a cherry blossom tree, surrounded by tiny fairies that had flames for hair and floated around her dutifully, was Jaenirra Flame, Lady Summer. Two Summer elves with golden swords strapped to their sides, stood on either side of her, guarding their queen faithfully. A bespectacled clerk knelt before her, reading from a ridiculously large scroll listed with all the things to be done in the kingdom. On either side of the carpet that striped through the room, were Summer elven, pointy eared fey of the court that dressed in lavish clothe of warm colors and gold. Jaenirra was dressed similarly in a sleeveless, sunset orange dress that reached to her knees with a heart shaped bodice that accented her features. Golden cuffs adorned with rubies encircled her lightly tanned arms, a necklace of pure gold gave off the glow of the sun. Curls of fiery hair stretched to her hourglass abdomen framed her pixie face and nose. Her amber eyes, capable of bewitching the hearts of men in a single glance, were glazed over in thought. A circlet of gold nestled in her hair, marking a princess of the Sun. Besides the apparent beauty of Jaenirra, the calming face of a queen beloved by her people, her mind was disorderly at the moment. She did not hear the ramblings of the clerk at the steps of her throne nor did she see the court lords and ladies that watched their young leader with admiration. She did not acknowledge the flame fairies twittering near her pointed ears. No, her thoughts were stuck on a certain winter spirit, but they were not kind.

The troubling was caused by the fact that Easter was due in four days. Jaenirra always made a trip to the Warren with hand-picked assistants fourteen days before the holiday to help the egg painter. Together they woke the hibernating animals, warmed the waters and most importantly, melted the snow.

The journey had already been taken and successfully completed. But nooooo, that frostbitten sprite had to throw one last major blizzard and now the creatures were sleeping again, the ponds had five inches of ice and snow had heaped taller than her. Production for spring had been thrown back by a week and now everything had to be done over again. The bubbling man before her was only telling the numbers she already knew about the situation at hand. This man's speech irritated her slightly.

And when Jaenirra was irritated, she usually tapped her bare feet discreetly. This behaviorism got the attention of dozing Varden, a golden Great Dane sized pet dragon that encircled her feet. He raised his crowned head to his beloved mistress, crooning in wonderment of her obvious discomfort.

"Thank you, Ignatius." she interrupted the clerk. "That'll be all."

She dismissed him with a flick of her hand.

"Thank you, my queen. Most wise." Ignatius rose to his feet bowing before rolling up the scroll and bowing once more as he scurried from the room.

Jaenirra nodded and rose from the stone throne. The room seemed to explode with servants, lords and ladies, and little flame fairies as they ran over themselves to serve their queen, bombard her with questions and many other things.

Maids offered her drinks of wine, fire flakes to eat and towels to wipe away stresses of the day.

"Ma lady, would you like..."

"A couple of..."

"Spark biscuits to munch?"

The flame clothed court people shouted offers of marriage to their sons.

"My queen!"

"The heart..."

"Of my son longs for you."

"Oh marry me now, Jaenirra! I can no longer wait for you." One cried.

Invitations to their manor on the other side of the city were extended.

"Miss Flame, there is a gala.."

"In my courtyard..."

"This pre-spring eve."

And numerous women whispered gossip in her ear over all the confusion.

"Did you hear.."

"That the baker.."

" And the maid.."

Jaenirra was familiar to this and politely waved away the servants, declined the betrothals and quieted the room with an ease of years of practice.

"Please." she said " I only wish to take a stroll through the gardens."

Two of the guards slid next to her as she walked down the red carpet, the fey people separated and bowed meekly. Varden trotted next to her, golden claws clicking along the floor, while flame fairies trailed behind her. Jaenirra walked down marble corridors striped in golden sunshine. Predecessending Summer Guardians smiled warmly from pantings lining the walls. Unlike the other Guardians, the guardianship for the right to be Lady Summer was passed on to the next female hier on the throne, Jaenirra was the sixty-seventh in the long line. Each held the same golden sword, wore similar red blankets and held a golden apple in a hand. The items represented the symbols for the kingdom. A sword for courage, a blanket for comfort and an golden apple for inspiration. She slowed to a stop in front of one. It was a portrait of a woman. Her hair looked like it was spun of bronze, held up by pins of gold in a Roman fashion. Her mahogany eyes sparkled kindly but her lips upturned in a sad smile. At least, that's how it appeared to Jaenirra. The young girl gazed at her mother, Alevia .

"Hello Mom." she smiled painfully. "Sorry I haven't been able to talk to you in awhile. Leading a kingdom is tough."

The girl chuckled to the painting, as if they were sharing an inside joke only they knew.

If the one person conversation was strange to the pair of summer guards, they did not let on.

Her peals of laughter faded away.

"Especially with the rogue Jack Frost running around."

Jaenirra's smile vanished as well.

"I need help Mom. I don't know what to do. Easter is in four days and now we have to start preparing for spring all over again."

She clenched her fist. Varden moved closer to her, sensing her pain. He crooned with understanding.

"It's not fair that he gets to do whatever he wants and get away with it, leaving us to clean up after him."

Jaenirra sighed.

"I wish you were here."

She smiled hopefully, looking at her mother for guidance but the portrait remained silent, lips forever sealed with lost secrets.

The pounding of feet broke the tranquil air. Jaenirra turned to see Pan'nuck, her best friend and most trusted guard. He was dressed in the customary bronze armor and helmet of a palace guard, his ears sticking out of his helmet much like the two men beside her. Pan'nuck was not of the higher class Summer fey. His mischievous eyes were a leafy green rather then the bronze brown or tea yellow spectrum of standard Court genes. But his normally laughing eyes were filled with a troubled look now.

"Jaenirra." He was the only one in the kingdom who called her by her real name anymore.

"Outside..." he gasped, bent over his knees breathing hard. "Lights. Northern lights."

"What do you mean northern lights?" She questioned, her hand coming to a rest on Varden.

"It's North's lights. He's summoning the Guardians."

Pan'nuck stood and looked straight into Jaenirra's amber eyes.

"He's summoning you."

Stone silence.

Everything seemed to slow, the fairies wingbeats, her heart, even the sunlight that streamed through the windows turned to golden syrup.

And just quickly as it had started, everything fast-forwarded. Her heart pounded and her mind raced. North's lights were only used for dire emergencies and only occured at least every millenia. The last time such a thing had happened was in the dark ages, but that was nearly three thousand years ago.

"Are you sure?" She managed to say.

"Absoulutly, the skies are lit up with them." Pan'nuck gestured to the windows. Jaenirra turned and sure enough, the shimmering aurora borealis waved back. It made it all so much more real, actually seeing the proof before her eyes. She twirled around and went in the opposite direction down the hall, her bare feet nearly running in her haste.

" The Muses won't like it." Pan'nuck followed her through the corridors, as did the guards and flame fey. Varden tromped faithfully next to the anxious girl. She turned around once more.

"You are dismissed." Jaenirra told the guards. They bowed and walked away. She turned to the little sprites.

"Inferno, Blaze,Spark." She addressed the fairies by name, "Alert the nine Muses, I'm going to the North Pole." They straightened and zoomed away. Only a green-eyed guard, a golden dragon and a Sun princess remained.

"They won't like it, not with Easter coming so soon." He repeated.

"I don't care. This is Guardian business and I'm going." She was racing down the hall again, to the palace stables were a gilded chariot waited to be hooked up to Varden.

"Then I'm going with you." Pan'nuck declared.

"No Pan'nuck, you're not going, it's too dangerous." She continued, deadset on making it to the chariot.

"Hey, look here." He grabbed her arm. She stared at the floor. "There is no way in hell going alone. We're in this together." She looked up into his eyes now, emerald upon amber.

"You sure? These don't happen every decade. We might not make it out, we could die."

"Hey, we don't even know what it is. North could have just run out of cookies or something. You know how he is about that shit."

She searched the green orbs. For what, she did not know.

Jaenirra laughed, but is was more of a nervous laugh, one that held longing of everything to be okay. Pan'nuck grinned his signature smile, light and airy.

"Besides," he began, " You got Varden here. Trust me, the moment the enemy sees him, they'll be running with their tails between their asses."

Varden snorted in agreement. A ring of smoke grew from his nose.

Jaenirra laughed once more and knelt to the reptilian pet. She grabbed his warm, scaly face in her hands. If any mortal had tried to do this their hands would have been seared but Summer fey had nearly fire-proof skin.

"Will you do that Varden?" she cooed, "Will you chase away the baddies and bake cookies for big ole' St. Nick?" Varden snorted again and Jaenirra took that as a yes.

"Well I guess we're stuck then." She sighed.

"You too Pan'nuck." She added.

Pan'nuck grinned, "North Pole, here we come." he declared.

"Here we come." Jaenirra agreed. "Now go get changed."

She shooed the golden-armored boy away, "It's ass cold up there."

Pan'nuck mockingly saluted. "As you wish, my queen." He marched away.

Jaenirra felt the smile on her face melt away. Her hand came to a rest on Varden for support. A continous thought ran through her mind over and over again, like a broken record. Why would North summon them to his workshop? And what was waiting for them there?

"Well, Varden." She looked down at her dragon. "Time to suit up."

The girl gazed out the window where the flickering lights touched the horizen in whispers and lifted away in a murmur of blue, pink and green.

"To the North Pole." she whispered.

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**I absolutely loved writing that chapter. Tell me what you thought of Jaenirra and if you liked her. It makes me so happy when you do. I hope to post again soon and don't worry, Jack will be back soon!**

**;}**

**-Emberlywoods12 **

**XOXO 3**


	3. Chapter 3: Awaiting Arrival

**From the depths of my computer and my twisted imagination, I bring you, A NEW CHAPTER! YAAAAAAAAAAY! I know I might have told some of you that I would update by Friday but I finished the chapter early, so yeah. Hope you enjoy!**

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"I still don't get why **he **has to be a part of this." Jaenirra huffed, crossing her lightly metal-clad arms.

"I agree with Jaenirra," Bunnymund said. "Why do we need him any way?"

"Maybe MiM has a plan." Tooth offered.

Jaenirra snorted. "Yeah, like we're gonna throw snowballs or something at Pitch."

She was leaning against a pillar in the main hall of the legendary Santa's workshop. Many would be overwhelmed to be found in such a place but Jaenirra, in all honesty didn't like the cold. She had dressed specially for the trip, currently dressed in a long black coat lined in fur as soft as an ermines'. The long sleeves hid the forearm cuffs which had been traded for a thicker metal, ones stronger that the mortal titanium. A gold sword was strapped to the side of her thick brown leather riding pants. A pair of strong boots reached to her knees and her hair hadn't changed much except the circlet that marked a Sun princess had been removed, letting her crimson hair hang in serene waves. While the attire kept away the chill, she didn't like how the cloth clung to her body heavily.

Jaenirra was used to moving freely without any restricting clothing to keep her down. Pan'nuck seemed to have been the only one who enjoyed the cold. After thirty minutes of riding in the same flying chariot pulled by Varden, 'Look Jaenirra, snow!' and 'Holy shit, that's a lot of ice!', the two Camalians reached the bitter north. Varden loathed the cooler temperature as well, showing this when he happily thundered headlong to the large fireplace in North's home and curling up next to it contently. Tooth slammed into Jaenirra with her feathered body, hugging and asking questions a mile an minute, little mini-fairies in tow. North also greeted the two teens with bone-crushing hugs and the elves cautiously threw Varden a well-earned forty pound sirloin. Bunnymund addressed Jaenirra and Pan'nuck with a curt acknowledgement but then again he was Bunnymund. Sandy was more or less pleased to see them but he would never tell Jaenirra, his lips never left their soft smile confines.

Pan'nuck had greatly enjoyed seeing the yetis and elves, and the mini-fairies were infatuated by his teeth.

But Pan'nuck was gone now, picking up that arrogant brat, Jack Frost.

Jaenirra clenched her jaw.

Why, after all this time, was he finally coming to light? Three hundred years and now the world was in danger of falling to the Nightmare King and Jack gets a clean slate to become the _fucking_ hero?

MiM was seriously pissing her off.

"I bet you he was some sort of spoiled prince before he was chosen." Jaenirra started again. "Probably had servants and everything. And now he's all," She brought her hands from her hands from the confines of her coat and snapped her wrist dramatically in a way that portrayed a stuck-up person. "_Oh no. Woe to me 'cause no one believes in me but they should because I ice up their roads and freeze their pipes." _She raised her voice to a high soprano.

Tooth giggled and Sandy looked slightly amused.

"Well that's sayin' somethin' Jaenirra. Considerin' your a monarch yourself." Bunnymund reminded.

"Oh, so what, you're on his side?" The red-haired girl said savagely.

"Eh now," North held up his tattooed arms, "Let's nah ge' our nic'ers in a twis'." His accent was rough but homely and Jaenirra succumbed to it. North had chosen not to speak until now, for reasons that Jaenirra could only guess. She figured it was the fact that the large Russian man felt like Jack was a some sort of son to him.

"Fine." she huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

The girl had never intended to argue with the six-foot pooka, she liked him to much to do so. Bunnymund was a friend that she greatly admired for strength and kindness and would never want to fight against; she'd probably have her ass kicked. When bidding for a fight between Bunnymund and some other unfortunate soul in the ring, always place the bet on the bunny, she had learned.

Fighting, she realized, thoughts fading away to ones darker, was something she would have to do in times to come.

Pitch, it seemed, had decided to drag his ass out of the depths of some dark, forgotten shit hole, to take over the world. It came as a shock to all the Guardians. The Nightmare had gone out with the Dark Ages, vanquished by them long ago.

Jaenirra hadn't been there but her great-grandmother had long ago and the stories from the ashes of the age-old battle, were ones better left unspoken.

She had heard of terrible darkness, fallen cities and innocence murdered in the cold on a single, twisted man's heart.

But no, she would not dwell on such things, for there is a champion, she thought bitterly, one chosen by the Man in the Moon's one hand.

A champion to save them all and a real jackass as well.

Figures' he would show up at that moment.

A brilliant light filled the room and caught the attention of the occupants within the workshop. It was a portal, bright and swirling with wisps of silver magic. Jaenirra caught a glimpse of a cobblestone alleyway.

That's strange, Jaenirra thought. She had never pictured Jack Frost as actually living in some sort of place in some sort of town or country. She had never really put a scene behind him when he came to fore thought. He was usually some place high up, perched in a tree or floating in the sky, a smug grin on his pale lips.

But never a modern-day city back alley. Maybe there had been a chase, there was no way Jack Frost was some kind of hobo.

A figure appeared within the magical doorway, Pan'nuck. There was a large mass next to him, like a garbage bag or a sac with a certain winter spirit in it.

Pan'nuck grabbed the top of the rough cloth and stepped through the swirled doorway. It closed immediately after.

Pan'nuck set the large mass on the carpeted floor. There was a silence in the large cavern.

"Is that-" Bunnymund started.

A small nod from Pan'nuck. "Yeah I had to knock him out a couple more times but he finally stayed asleep. I think you're going to need to upgrade that dream dust of yours, Sandy." He smiled at the small man and winced.

Jaenirra noticed multiple scrapes and bruises that were beginning to form on his skin and he seemed to be favoring his right leg an awful lot. Realization hit Jaenirra like a freight train. Why that little bastard, she thought savagely, We're trying to help him and what does he do? He attacks Pan'nuck, that's what. Her blood boiled.

"Pan'nuck, your face. It's-" she stepped towards him, hand outstretched.

"Messed up?" He caught her hand. "Yeah, he got me a couple times but I'm fine really."

The sun princess looked at him skeptically but his eyes pleaded with her not to make his a bigger deal then they were.

She sighed and looked at the sac at his boots. It seemed everyone was, naturally gravitating towards it. Jaenirra was aware of a strange humming noise coming from the bag.

No, it was snoring.

Varden sniffed the shifting sac cautiously. One of Tooth's brightly colored mini-fairies bravely poked at it and squealed loudly when the mass snorted. The tiny fairy dove into Jeanirra's warm hands quivering.

"So..." Tooth dragged out nervously, breaking the silence. "Who wants to wake him up?"

Jaenirra grinned. "Please allow me."

The girl had a reckoning with Jack Frost and she was going to enjoy immensely.

Sandy saw the female Camalian's malevolent smile and felt a pit in his stomach. He almost felt bad for the sleeping boy. The dream keeper could see into the boy's mind and see his peaceful dreams. But then again that feeling was an almost. He couldn't wait to see how this one was played out. So the plump man folded his hands together and pleasurably watched the scene unfold in an anticipating silence.

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**I hope you guys enjoyed that and I'm sorry if there might have been any spelling errors or sentence disagreements. Most of you might have gotten a PM from me asking for ideas and headcannons that I might use in my story. I really would like to incorporate stuff that you guys want to see into my stories to make them more enjoyable**. **Review as soon as you can cause you know how happy it makes me and I look forward to updating more chapters very soon. **

**Don't forget to REVIEW.**

**-Emberlywoods12**

**XOXO 3**


	4. Chapter 4: Dreaming of a Flame

**Sorry I didn't update earlier. I took a trip up to the mountains over the weekend and didn't have any access at all to any form of technology. There wasn't even paper or pen. I'll spare you the rest of my details. Anywho, hope you like it and don't forget to review.**

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Jack Frost awoke to the sound of an angel singing his name, or as it later out, the bitch from hell.

Dreams where something Jack would never get. One moment you were there in one place and then you were gone, moved to somewhere far beyond. You felt like you were there, you could see smells and taste color and sound and the feelings all felt real. Yet, you always knew somewhere deep down, it was only just that, a dream.

Or a nightmare.

Jack chased the wind on top a thin power line. A smile alighted on his face like a morning bird, loud and singing with childish delight. He was free of everything, just him and the cold air that bit his skin with loving care. He raced down the street, whooping and hollering, doing what he was born to do. The sky was overcast with brooding grey clouds and though there was no sun, Jack was happier than he had ever been before. The ground below was covered by freshly fallen snow, the best kind, unsoiled by mortals.

Many people say the snow is quiet, but it's not. It screams and cries across the landscape, smothering it with pure, crystal noise. Even at night it whispers to the stars and moon. In the morning it yells at the sun to go away and come again another day.

And if you listen hard enough, you can hear it laugh with the breeze.

The carefree boy dove to the ground, his crystal eyes sparkling with glee. His bare feet brushed the field below and he shivered with excitement.

Jack loved the way the snow coolly nibbled at his toes. It felt good, it felt right.

He strode between graceful trees on a chilled tread of untarnished white. It was like being in a cloud, only more grounded.

Jack walked on, staff held leisurely in a hand. His hood was up, it made him feel safe and at ease. The warm clothe masking his ivory hair made him feel sheltered from his problems, like nothing else bad could happen to him.

It's almost a shame such suspicions cannot protect us from the corrupt matters in life.

The eretheal trail came to an end. A small, frozen lake nestled in the valley, tall, bare trees surrounded the icy banks. Stones dotted the glass surface, rising up from the water like icy teeth. Jack had seen this before, sometime, somewhere different, a long time ago. But something was different about the lake. Something that wasn't right.

Mist shrouded close to the smooth ice and Jack swore he could hear the haze purring.

It was waiting, lurking, ready to pounce.

It's just mist, Jack reassured himself, 's not like it's gonna eat you or something.

But the way the low cloud twisted and curled sent chills down his spine.

Not even his hood nor his staff could make the unnerved feeling go away.

He tried to turn away but his feet seemed rooted to the banks.

_Wait! _his mind screamed. _Look! Listen!_

Time was kind and the mist soon parted to reveal a girl.

A beautiful one, at that.

She knelt in the center, the haze veiled her in eretheal wisps.

She was a long ways out but her hair is what struck Jack the most. It was the color of fire, a blazing inferno against the loud white the stretched the landscape. He could not see her face, it was obscured by a large, heavy, black cloak.

Heavy, as in weighed by water.

Now that the boy thought about it, the pretty maiden seemed to be shivering in the cold of the air around her.

"Hello?" He called quietly. The boy was used to nobody answering, but was surprised to hear his name.

"_Jack." _A soft voice called from far away.

"I'm here." He called back. Jack took a step of the bank and onto the slick surface of the lake. He did not notice the ripple it caused. He was too focused on the girl he inched towards. "Can you hear me? Can you see me? Do you need any help?"

Silence, and then. "_Jack Frost."_

_"_Yes, that is my name. Why are you out here? Are you cold?" His walking became faster, he had to get to the girl in the middle of the large pond.

It had been so long since he had heard is name shouted with something other than hate. He had to know if anybody believed in him, if anybody even cared.

But something would not let him. Every time he took a step, the girl moved farther away, as did the voice.

"_Jack, Jack. Jack Frost." _It faded in and out, soft and beckoning and now the drenched girl seemed a mile in the distance, only a speck against the dark trees that surrounded the lake. He began to run, tears streamed down his face.

"Please," he cried, "Please, don't leave me! I want to help you! Come back!"

"_Jack Frost, wake up!" _The ethereal voice commanded.

He stopped running and screamed at the heavens. "I am! I'm awake. MiM damn it, I'm awake!"

Tears streamed down his face, cooling in the bitter breeze.

What was going on? Did the world hate him? What did it all mean?

"What the hell, do you want from me?!"

"_Crowbar." _The voice said. A slap on the skin was heard.

Crowbar? Jack wondered. The lake was beginning to blur and the light seemed to grow brighter, more intense.

He could hear other noises, shuffling and whispers. He felt like he was laying in a plush bed of clouds.

"Three, two, on-"

Jack's eyes popped open to see something whistling towards him. His eyes widened and he barely had time to roll out of the way as the crowbar thumped against the carpet were he had just been sleeping.

"And that my friends," came a voice like the one in his dream. "Is how you wake up a Jack Frost."

A fit of laughter followed, more than one.

That voice. He'd heard it before. Sure it had been in his dream, that's what he was staring to realize it was, but it was different somehow.

More real, more..familiar?

Jack tried to look around but he was still groggy and everything was light and shadow. Large dark figures were made out it the haze of sleep.

The winter spirit rubbed the sleep away from his tired eyes. The blurs became more define forms.

And one was right in front of him.

"Goooooood morning!" The known female voice chippered.

**The girl, as he had figured, was leaning in his face, a wide smile written all over their tan face. Fiery red curls seemed to explode in his eyes and they framed two bright yellow eyes, like a cats'.**

Hold the fuck up. Yellow eyes?

Holy crap.

For the second time that day, Jack was scared out of his mind.

He scrambled away from the girl backwards on his hands, putting distance between him and his worst rival ever.

"What, Jack?" Jaenirra Flame, who was on her hands and knees before, stood on her knees and placed her hands on her hips. "Didn't you miss me at all?" She pouted.

Holy shit, I screwed, the winter spirit thought.

And it was nothing but the truth.

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**Hope you enjoyed it and sorry if it was too short or had any errors. **

**(Totally my fault if it did.)**

**If you have any comments, complaints or concerns (or headcannons) don't be afraid to review.**

**Also I'm opening a poll (through reviewing only, I don't know how to do all that other stuff) Tell me which character out of the other Guardians (besides Pan'nuck, Jaenirra or Jack) would you like to see take on the parental figure for the younger Guardians, or you could pick two or three or maybe even all of them. It's your choice and that's what matters to me. Review please.**

***BIG hug***


	5. Chapter 5: Awakened

**Nine more days, nine more days! Totally getting phsyiqued about the movie. **

**It's a bit more lengthy than the others and I'll try to do stuff just as long.**

**Anyway, new chapter!**

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"You're going to the infirmary." Jaenirra's decision was final.

"But-" Pan'nuck began to protest.

"No," There would be no arguing with her. "You're hurt badly and don't tell me you're not. I saw that limp and don't think you can hide your eye. You look worse than the Cinnamon Sweet incident."

"Hey, those were some good candies and you and Wenda weren't exactly the innocent ones. And trust me, Jackie doesn't hit nearly as hard as Saro."

They were speaking of something that had happened decades ago, when she, Pan'nuck and his little sister, Wenda were all still kids.

Jaenirra realized the beaten boy was skillfully luring her away from the problem at hand.

"I don't care," she put her hands on her hips. "By order of your queen, I'm demanding you go with Tooth's lieutenants to the infirmary and stay there until I say otherwise."

Jaenirra could see in his swollen emerald eyes he was fighting the command but years of servitude won over.

The carrot-topped boy sighed. "Fine, I'll go."

He stepped towards her and placed a hand on her arm, one of friendship and caring.

"Just don't let him get to you. You're stronger than he is; don't give him the satisfaction of getting you angry. Promise?" He waited for an answer, his hand still on her crossed arms.

"Okay," she huffed, "just stop looking at me like that."

His green eyes relented. "Promise?" He pushed.

Jaenirra threw up her hands. "Yes,! I promise I won't beat him up! Can you go now?"

Pan'nuck managed a small smile, which mangled his already bloody features. He squeezed her arm slightly before turning to go.

Well, that's over with, she sighed gratefully in her mind.

Now to get down to business.

She knelt down to the sleeping boy, well aware of the Guardians eyes one her. She tucked a falling curl behind her ear.

The red bag had been removed, his staff lay in it's folds. She was careful to avoid it.

No way she was touching anything of his.

With the bag gone, she could now see him fully

He was just has she had remembered him.

The albino teen was a skinny thing, but Jaenirra could see that under his tight, tattered pants and azure baggy sweater, that he had lean muscles left from years of snowball fights and battles between him and her. His chest slowly rose and fell hypnotically, swaying like the waters in the cerulean sea.

She was careful not to touch her bronze skin to his pearl. The cold just seemed to flow of him. Already the carpet surrounding him was covered with a thin layer of blue-tinged ice.

A pit formed in her stomach. How did she approach this?

Pan'nuck had been protestingly wheeled away by a group of Tooth's fairies to North's infirmary. And with him went her rage.

She wasn't feeling vengeful anymore.

It was strange.

On any other given decade, she would have undoubtedly bet this guy's ass but now...she had no idea what to do.

It was one of those things. You fantasize about doing something for years and then it happens and you have no idea how to deal with it.

Varden rose from where he was resting by the giant fireplace near North and trotted over to the crouched girl. He looked over her shoulder, down at Jack Frost, Jaenirra's worst rival until now.

They would have to work together as a team to defeat a dark force greater than ever before, Pitch.

All of them, North, Tooth, Bunnymund, Sandy, Pan'nuck and herself, would have to follow this jerk to battle against the calloused spirit of evil intentions.

Chills spidered down her back, creeping down the hood of her coat and stroked her bare spine. The Nightmare King, she thought, master of all things dark and twisted in this warped world.

The dragon companion sensed her unease and nuzzled her reassuringly; one of Tooth's helpers flitted over to the silent girl and nestled on top of her hair, snuggling and cooing, into waves of flame. It was strange, how animals and other such creatures sensed the disquiet of their humans or companions.

Then again, it was not so different. With the inherited powers of Lady Summer, you gain the abilities to sense the anguish of others, create flame with a snap of the fingers and create the seeds of inklings into the minds of those less creative then most. Great powers with a great price as well.

Better get on with it then.

Taking a deep breath, Jaenirra hung her face over Jack Frost's, careful not to let her scarlet curls brush his placid ivory face. Everything had to be perfect, as she had learned in intensive hours of studying the etiquette of becoming Lady Summer. One must dominate the room into which she steps, careful to set the boundaries immediately on who's who, her instructor punctuated in a shrill tone.

Jaenirra knew she had to be the first person he saw, and it had to be close, so he would realize she wouldn't be afraid to get violent with him should he cross a line. Jack's mind would not tell him he was being manipulated into thinking such a way, but surreptitiously slithering into his head.

Jaenirra began to assess all the possible approaches and outcomes to certain events, her bisque eyes never leaving his soft features.

She tried calling his name a couple times.

"Jack." She whispered softly.

"Jack Frost."

She did not see any changes in his sleeping features.

He looked peaceful, quiet, and damn her if she ever admitted to anyone else, naturally beautiful, like a cherry blossom petal drifting slowly down to earth.

"Jack, Jack Frost. Jack Frost."

His normally mocking blue eyes where quivering under the refuge of his eyelids, his pale coral lips twitched, moving in silent words. Even his alabaster hair looked better then usual, kissing the floor on which it rest gently, shimmering in a blue haze.

Jaenirra squinted.

Wait a minute, blue haze?

But that could only mean he was in pain, suffering mentally inside. The girl could see the kaleidoscopic auras when someone needed the comforting hand of Lady Summer. Everybody had one in their own distinct colors with their own textures, no two auras were the same, wether pitch black and boiling or a satiny, sunshine yellow.

What she thought was ice was, in reality, Jack's aura.

It was the most peculiar one she had ever seen, now that she inspected further; it was a mix of sapphire, obsidian, and silver, all coiling and caressing together to create a spectacle of suffering. The boy twitched in his sleep and Jaenirra could see a grimace of pain in his serene features.

"Uh Jaenirra? Ya jus' gonna sit there an' ponder or actually wake the bloke?"

Bunnymund inquired.

His hard voice churned the still air of Jaenirra's meditating haven of mind until it shattered, leaving nothing but tinkling memories hanging from the outer frame.

"Hold on Bunnymund!" she whisper-shouted, "I was just getting to that part."

She contemplated some more, watching the bud of colors licking back and forth across his chest like a flame.

She had to wake him up, bring him from the inky depths of the nightmare he was in. As it was her duty as the Lady Summer, she would have to comfort him. The girl turned her blazing head to Sandy. A look of confusion, pity and worry etched into his grainy features, and when he saw Jaenirra's amber eyes upon his golden ones he could also see the questioning in her eyes.

Did she wake the boy with open arms or did she attack him with violence, adding to the resentment he harbored for them? Sandman nodded and the answer was clear.

She turned once more to the suffering person.

Okay she'd be nice but that would not stop her from doing what had to be done if it needed to be done. In other words, if Jack did anything suspicion, malevolent, or even remotely hostile, she'd hand his ass back to him of a silver platter signed Yours Truly in his blood.

"Jack Frost, wake up!" she commanded.

No response.

Of course, her mind shouted.

Pan'nuck had used the last of Sandy's sleep dust on Jack. And by the looks of the empty bag of golden powder, he had used quite a bit.

If you used just enough of the dream sand, the resting person could go into a coma, one to last centuries in the right situation.

But there was no way to wake him if that happened, she would just have to wait it out.

For some reason Jaenirra despaired.

Without Jack, that two-faced son of a bitch, Pitch, would destroy them all.

Maybe she was being too dramatic but the fiery-haired girl knew she could not condemn the winter spirit to an eternal sleep, no matter how good it sounded.

She had to find a way.

A light bulb went of in Jaenirra's head.

Every Guardian had an uncanny ability to sense mortal peril to themselves or people around them, just like her, only on a lower scale.

They could react to it and save themselves from potential danger.

If Jack was as special to MiM as she believed, he would have the same defense mechanism.

But how to do it?

She pondered.

It would have to be something that could potentially hurt him.

No hands involved, no way she was touching the loser's filthy body.

An inkling arose in her mind.

She grinned deviously.

"Crowbar!" she called.

A tiny elves frantically ran around the room to fulfill Jaenirra's needs, bumping into each other a wreaking havoc.

Elves, she sighed inwardly, sometimes I wonder how North puts up with them, completely useless sometimes, they were, but not bad bakers.

"Um Jaenirra." Tooth fluttered up to her timidly, "Are you sure-"

"Yep." The redhead didn't look at her friend. If she did, she would have guilt and if she had guilt she wouldn't be able to beat Jack up and that would be a shame.

"But-"

"I got this Tooth."

Finally Bunnymund took the initiative to hand her the rod of iron himself. She smiled up at him and he, down at her.

"Get 'im for me." He chuckled.

Okay Jaenirra, she told herself, deep breaths. She raised the crowbar behind her head.

"Three."

Was this a good idea? He looked so peaceful.

"Two"

The boy's eyes flutter.

"One"

She brought down crowbar just as Jack's eyes popped open.

She was hit by the vibrance of the sky speckled with silver clouds all contained in two orbs widened in surprise.

He shrieked and rolled away from the oncoming rod.

It thudded against the carpet.

Jaenirra sighed.

And so close to.

"And that my friends," she was still on her hands and knees. "Is how you wake up Jack Frost."

The rest of the room laughed.

All except for North.

He glared daggers at Jaenirra while Tooth laughed nervously, Bunnymund chuckled disappointedly and Sandy managed a weak smile.

Okay, so they didn't like her methods.

Haters gotta hate and Jaenirras have to do Jaenirra things.

Crowbar included.

Back to business.

"Gooooood morning!" She sang, leaning in towards Jack.

Remember the original plan, she thought through gritted teeth.

She hated being near him. To much chill and not enough body heat.

Jaenirra was now grateful for all the layers she had piled on; it came in handy.

Clearly Jack didn't like the heat radiating of her and he yelped, backpedaling on his hands and bare feet like a crab.

"What, Jack?" she pretended to huff.

She stood on her knees and flick her hair behind her shoulder before placing her hands on her hips. "Didn't you miss me at all?"

There was silence for a moment. The white-haired teen was breathing hard, sweat poured done his face. His eyes darted around the room, drinking in all the unfamiliar sights and sounds.

His presence felt like that of an animals. Wild and disoriented.

And his eyes.

There was so much in those eyes. Hurt, pain, distress, loss as to where he was.

And she also saw a loneliness in those two sapphire eyes.

It was so deep and it welled like a reservoir. She could see it in those portals to the soul. How long had he suffered under being alone?

His aura wailed out to hers and she felt a pull in her gut.

So badly, she wanted to reach out a comforting hand to him.

To hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay; she would be there to protect him.

But then that moment passed when he smirked.

It was infuriating, playboy, stuck-up.

And it was in that moment when Jaenirra forgot everything she had seen before.

The facade of a confused, hurting boy had been slashed through and replaced with the person Jaenirra had resented ever since replacing her mother as Lady Summer.

It was pure hate. Because of this guy, Pan'nuck was wounded, spring was behind schedule and a thousand other things had gone wrong in the world; all because of him.

"Oh, Jaenirra Flame," he said smugly.

He got slowly to his feet and Jaenirra scrambled to hers.

How dare he hold himself higher then her. She was Lady Summer and she ought to be treated with respect.

Thank MiM, Varden was there for her to place her hands on so she looked less like a fool in her struggle upwards.

Somehow the tiny fairy nestled in her hair remained there, even after all the pandemonium that had occurred.

Jack spoke again.

"What a pleasant surprise. I was beginning to wonder when I would see you again."

In the process, he managed to slip his pale foot under his strange wooden crook and flip it into the air, catching with the swipe of the hand.

He showed years of practice.

Must have time to do it, she thought bitterly, guy's spoiled rotten with MiM's little visits, I bet.

Jaenirra didn't know if this was a fact but that must be the reason MiM has picked the jackass out as Champion.

Why else would the man choose the boy?

"Sooo." Jack drawled out, leaning on his staff in the most arrogant way, it made her blood boil. Her hands almost caught fire in her rage but she remembered Pan'nuck's warning as he was carried away to the hospital bed.

'Don't let him get to you.'

"Nice to see the rest of you showed up to my kidnapping." Jack was addressing the rest of the Guardians. "It's good to know you actually care."

"O' cours' we care abou' ya, Jack." North groveled.

Good MiM, that the bearded man was a suck-up. Always wanting to be Jack's adopted father and the teen, in turn, to be his perfect little son.

Good luck taming that one, Jaenirra thought.

Jack, true to his character, wasn't paying any attention. Instead, he floated around the room. His hands were behind his head and his legs where crossed in a position that mimicked that of one lounging in a lawn chair.

His eyes were closed but he managed to navigate his way around Jaenirra and weave in and out of wandering yetis, around the room in circling patterns.

"I must have done something really bad to get you guys together." He mused. "I mean come on."

His feet became earth bound once more and he strode to where the Guardians stood.

"Santa Claus, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy." He had been pointing to each of them in turn and when he got to Toothiana, he smirked and sent a playboy wink her way. Tooth blushed coral.

Jaenirra's fists clenched.

He was the most impulsive person, thinking he could sweep every girl of her feet.

And Tooth!

The redhead thought the fairy had more self-control than to fall to Jack's filthy level.

A growl caught the swaggering boys attention.

It was Bunnymund.

The pooka, who had been leaning before on a pillar separated from the rest of the group, glared at Jack in distaste and the warning in his meadow eyes was clear.

'Stay away.'

Jack just smiled at his.

"And of course we have our Easter Bunny, Lady Summer and-" Jack stopped short from his ramblings and mockingly pretended to look around panicky.

"Oh shit, I do believe I have misplaced our dearest Pan. Where is the guy?"

"In the 'ospital bed, no thanks ta you, mate." Bunnymund seethed.

A look of shock seemed to pass across Jack's pale face.

"Really?" Jaenirra thought he pretended to act surprised but in all actuality, Jack felt remorse.

What had he done to Pan'nuck that would have him go into the hospital?

He remembered bits and pieces, mostly of him struggling in a dark, constricted place and Pan'nuck shouting before blowing more dust onto Jack.

"What happened?" he asked.

"You happened." Jaenirra stepped forward, "Don't you remember? Your the one who attacked him." The redhead said bitterly.

Okay that crossed the line.

"Excuse me?" Jack scoffed. He placed an offended hand on his chest. "I'm the one who attacked you? No, you got it all wrong. I'm the one who got shoved in a sack and dragged here."

"Well, it's not like we wanted you here." Jaenirra began to raise her voice.

Tooth fluttered between them.

"Okay guys, calm down. Why don't we just talk ab-" She tried to reason with them but Jaenirra slashed of the rest of her friends words with an angry. " Go away Tooth! I'll handle this myself!"

Tooth felt tears well up in her eyes. Jaenirra had never yelled at her, ever.

Never once had she gotten mad at the fairy. But now with Jack here, the rest of the Guardians saw a side of the teen girl they never knew, and it was menacing, angry and violent.

"Then why am I here if you didn't want me? That seems like a pretty stupid thing to do. Kidnap a guy and then tell him he's not wanted!" Jack was yelling as well.

"To kidnap you wasn't my call!"

"Then whose was it?"

"I can't-"

"You can't what? You can't tell me? Is that your dirty little secret?"

"No! I can't tell you because I'm not supposed to!"

"Who was it then? Tell me!" Jack grabbed onto Jaenirra and she screamed.

A burst of fire shoot from her hand and hit Jack square in the chest.

He flew across the room and hit the wall with a crack as his head made contact with the wall. Jaenirra's hands smoked and she stared at them in horror. She had gone to far. Her fire abilities had always been under control but she had let Jack get into her head and in her fury, hurt him.

Just like Pan'nuck told her not to.

"Jaenirra!" Tooth screamed. "What is your problem?" She began to flew towards Jack but the boy got strugglingly to his feet.

A streak of red dribbled down his forehead and painted his white hair crimson.

He didn't seem to notice.

"Who wanted me?" He croaked out.

"MiM." Jaenirra whispered. "MiM wanted you."

She raised her eyes slowly to the bloodied boy.

"He wants you to become a Guardian."

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**Oh no Jaenirra! What have you done to Jack?**

**And Bunnymund being protective?**

**Find out what happens next time on Emberlywoods12 post!**

**Don't forget to review and I won't forget to update.**

**Next:**

**"Jack!" Jaenirra bellowed, "You son of a bastard! Get back here!"**

**"What did you do this time?" Pan'nuck demanded, turning to the giggling winter spirit.**


	6. Chapter 6: A Walk into the Past

**Hey guys! The reviews are coming in great! So I'm going to see the RotG premiere with my friend tomorrow. It's kind of last minute and I feel like I'm gloating but I CAN'T FREAKING WAIT! OMG, JACK FROST! Oh, and speaking of Jack Frost, my sister read this story and then looked at me and said "Frost hater."**

**Let me just clear this up. No, I have not, nor will I ever, hate Jack Frost. I'm just trying to make it more realistic coming from Jaenirra's point if view.**

**Okay, glad we got that out of the way. Enjoy!**

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Pan'nuck was lying in one of the multiple beds in North's vast infirmary, propped up on a plush pillow. His bloody, tattered green tunic had been removed and, as he later learned, burned. Now, his broad chest was wrapped in bandages, covering the several scrapes Jack had managed to inflict upon him in one of the many times the winter spirit had woken up.

His wonderfully gentle nurses, Tooth's mini-fairies, had flitted off after they had cleaned his cuts and iced his bruises, leaving one sole feathered fey to guard the patient.

It was now snuggled on a stack of gauze on his nearby bedside, wheezing in what could have been considered tiny snores and generally lying down on the job.

It was so adorable, Pan'nuck couldn't help a little chuckle. The hummingbird raised it's large pink eyes blearily, startled by the sudden noise.

"Sorry," Pan'nuck apologized to the fairy, still chuckling. "Go back to sleep."

The fairy shot up, remembering her duties. She began to twitter very angrily and shake a tiny finger at the partially mummified boy, while her other hand was on her hip. It was almost as if she were scolding him.

"No, I promise I won't get out of bed. After all, I don't want to suffer your wrath." Pan'nuck said, seemingly understanding the fairy's fitful chatter.

The fairy looked at him skeptically.

"If I swore on MiM, would you believe me?" Pan'nuck tried.

The feyling thought about it, wings still fluttering rapidly as she hovered in front of his nose.

To swear on MiM was a very big deal. If you made an oath, by law, you had to keep it.

She thought some more and finally nodded her feather crowned head quickly.

"Okay then, I swear by MiM that I will not leave this bed until I am told to or the building catches on fire," Pan'nuck placed his right wrapped hand over his heart and raised the other. "Or if someone is in trouble." He added for extra measure.

"How was that?" He inquired.

The little fairy nodded her head in satisfaction and whirled back to her former bed, cuddling in between the thin layers of light clothe.

"Before you go to sleep can I ask you something?" The green-eyed boy asked softly, leaning down to become eye level with the tired little hummingbird.

She yawned before nodding.

"What's your name?"

The winged sprite could barely keep her sleepy coral eyes open, she assumed it was because she usually worked over-time and hadn't slept in two months, but she managed to let out one last chirrup.

"Baby Tooth," the Summer fey mused, "What a fitting name for one of Tooth's lieutenants."

But Baby Tooth did not reply and Pan'nuck was left to explore the room with his eyes alone.

I spy with my little eye, Pan'nuck thought, playing a little game in his head, a bed.

True enough, large iron-wrought beds the size of truck beds lined the white-washed walls, as did smaller ones about the size of frying pans. Pristine pearl tile floors shone with the orange light of the setting sun that peeked through several large windows. The arched panes viewed the large splendor of the vast ice canyon in which North's palace nestled. The red sun bounced off of the ice of the surrounding cliffs, setting the sides on fire, like a warmer version of the aurora borealis that had taken up the skies only a few hours ago.

Pan'nuck sighed. Everything had changed with those lights. Normally humorous, the guard felt heavy hearted, as if Varden were taking a nap on his chest. His joke supply, he felt, had run dry.

He was worried about Jaenirra and Jack. He knew, rightfully so, how they did not, _could not_, get along.

Pan'nuck had to say, Jack and Jaenirra were probably the worst things to happen to him in his three hundred and eighty-two years of life.

And some of the best things to happen to him, as well.

It was crazy, the philosophy of it all.

He loved them to heaven and to hell but their constant arguing was beginning to make his pointed ears ring with piercing headaches.

Jack, the soldier felt, needed to lay off the jokes and stop poking at Jaenirra, while the girl needed to take Jack's advice and cool off a bit.

Pan'nuck found them both awesome friends.

Jack was never far with his large variety pranks, winter weather and staff slinging.

Pan'nuck sometimes visited him secretly when he had the day off of guarding one of the many watch towers, without Jaenirra knowing, of course.

He and Jack usually played pranks on unsuspecting people and each other, sometimes they compared jokes and girls and shit, regular mortal guy stuff. Sometimes they just talked.

Pan'nuck had learned that Jack didn't know who he was or where he came from, so when it came to discussing backstories, they simply didn't.

The winter spirit was great guy with a good heart and an excellent character, but sometimes he joked around a little too much, which irritated Jaenirra up to no end.

Jaenirra, as it were, was the exact opposite.

She just needed to loosen up, _take_ joke for once; it had been so long since Pan'nuck had seen her laugh. He missed it dreadfully.

It was light and tinkling, yet full and subtle, childish in it's vocals.

It was one of those laughs you couldn't get enough of, and you found yourself trying to think of new ways to hear it again, to listen to the silvery rain as you stood in a vast desert.

But Jaenirra's laugh was seldom heard.

Pan'nuck did remember a time, though, when they were children, younger in their years, when times had been full of magic and awe at the world.

He remembered at time when a smile from Jaenirra was a plentiful, everyday thing.

It was before her coronation, before she became Lady Summer.

_"Ninety-eight, ninety-nine, ONE HUNDRED." The small girl shouted across the warm golden fields of papery-barked trees. She looked around, bright amber eyes twinkling in by the golden aura of the apple tree under which she had chosen to count for an exciting game of Find-A-Fey._

_"Hidden from sight by a bush,_

_Or high in a tree,_

_I'll set your tush on fire_

_And then laugh I'll with glee." She chanted merrily as she skipped down the palace gardens, her childish face lit with delight. The incantation was not something out of a horror film but instead, the words that usually accompanied the seeker in a game of Find-A-Fey after they had counted to the customary number of one hundred. _

_It was an off-school day and she was determined to enjoy her time along with her friends while they were away from their studies in the palace._

_Though she looked only about eight, in actuality, she was over a century and a half._

_The girl enjoyed the lushes green grass that felt cool in between her bare toes, how the sun warmly nipped at her pointed ears, how the air smelled of fresh flowers, magic and a bright morning with good things to come. _

_She arrived at a small stream that babbled happily and shimmered in the warm Camalian breeze. Watching it skip along over rocks in a cool fashion, the pointy-eared girl wanted nothing more then to dip her toes in and taste the refreshing bite of a spring brook. She looked left and right hurriedly._

_It wouldn't hurt if she let her two best friends wait just a bit longer for her to find them._

_Making up her mind, she enthusiastically scrambled down the red clay bank bed, mudding her pure white dress in the process. She landed with a splash and shrieked with glee as the chilly water rushed over her feet. She watched, entranced by the way the light bounced of her bronze skin, sending ribbons dancing across the creek bed. A cheerful twittering above her head sent her gazing up at the sky. Brightly colored yellow finches danced in the high light azure heavens, singing melodies and chattering about the latest juicy bird gossip._

_The girl watched as two finches zipped past her and turned to follow them. As she spun, she raised her hands in glee, her long, wavy, crimson hair flowing through the wind. The girl's white, folded dress whipped around as well, forming a cloud of white around her in a ballet of nature._

_Soon she forgot all about her friends whom she had wanted to find not two minutes ago. The game was a distant memory and now she enjoyed one of the greatest things in life, the living in a moment unexpected._

_She giggled and whirled, watching the world around her turn into a spectrum of the ivory of the apple tree bark, the gold of the sun and finches, the sapphire of the heavens above and the mahogany of the clay earth._

_It was wonderful, it was real, it was magical, it was...falling?_

_She lost her balance twirling around in the creek and came crashing down. Her dress and hair was soaking wet._

_A fit of laughter coming from the trees drew the drenched girl's attention. High in a tree, roaring with laughter, was a green-outfitted, young, orange-haired boy about her age. He held his sides, rocking back and forth on the tree bough, causing the silver leaves to shiver._

_"Pan'nuck!" The girl half-spluttered with embarrassment, half-wailed with tears._

_The boy continued to laugh at her but thankfully Wenda came to her rescue._

_"Jaenirra!"_

_ A copper-haired girl with crystal eyes and a dress similar to Jaenirra's but a sky blue color, appeared from behind a rock farther downstream and rushed towards the dripping girl._

_"Jaenirra, Jaenirra! Are you okay?" She cried, stumbling as she made her way toward her friend._

_She slide down the red bank, messing up her dress as well._

_"Oh, bother." Wenda huffed, fussing with Jaenirra's white dress as she lifted the redhead by her armpits. "Why do you always have to get into these kinds of messes and why do I always have to dig you out?" _

_While trying to pull Jaenirra up, the strawberry blonde lost her footing and came crashing down next to her friend._

_"Oh bother." She repeated, lamenting, "Now my new dress is all ruined." Wenda stood up, holding the ends of her sky dress with the tips of her fingers and wrinkling her freckled nose._

_"Don't worry," Jaenirra stood up along with her, "Saro will wash it for you."_

_Saro was a plump nanny who watched the children with a stern but kindly eye. She was a sturdy woman as well, hands calloused from years of working at the palace, washing clothes repeatedly like the ones that now dripped on the girls' frames. Saro loved the three children so but would not hesitate to correct them. _

_Mostly through a wooden spoon she brandished like a sword._

_Jaenirra was glad she was not here with them._

_"Come on then," She gestured to Wenda. "We got to find someway to climb up without _**that** _moron." She nodded her head towards Pan'nuck. _

_Together they struggled up the steep incline and collapsed hard on the soft grass, breathing in great lungfuls._

_"Why must we always end up like this?" Wenda puffed, cheeks pink._

_"Don't ask me," Jaenirra replied bitterly, "Ask him." _

_Both girls turned to Pan'nuck, who was still laughing his ass off._

_Jaenirra shot to her feet, placing her hands on her hips. "Pan'nuck, why do you always have to be so mean?"_

_"Yeah!" Wenda stood up as well and mimicked her friend._

_"I'm..sorry," Pan'nuck gasped between breaths, "But...you were so...fucking priceless."_

_The two girls both gasped in horror, hands flying to their mouths._

_"Pan'nuck, you should know better than to use that kind of language."Jaenirra scolded._

_The boy jumped to the ground with ease and strode up to them, arms crossed._

_"But you talk like that all the time." He defended, leaning in close._

_"I'm the princess." Jaenirra crossed her arms as well and glared evenly back at him._

_He was nearly two decades older than her - but in Camalian years that was only about a year - and had about three inches on her but she managed to make up for it with an attitude._

_"Fair point." Pan'nuck admitted. "But bet _**_you_**_," he pointed to her, "Wrestle _**_me_**_ to the ground."_

_"You wanna bet?" Jaenirra smiled smugly._

_"Go for it, I'll give you the first shoot." Pan'nuck was confident he would win this one. Someday, he hoped to grow up to be a great general of the palace. He imagined often that he would kill a horrible monster and come home carrying mountains of treasure and a fair maiden in which he had rescued, who looked adoringly up into his eyes as they rode on a white horse into the sunset._

_Cheesy, right?_

_But none the less, he had a dream he wanted to uphold and like a childish feeling, somehow wrestling with his future queen seemed necessary to his soon-to-be career._

_Or it might have been the small crush he had harbored for Jaenirra over the years and fighting with her was how he would win her affection._

_You know - regular boy stuff._

_"Wenda, start us off." Pan'nuck commanded his little sister._

_"Okay." She looked skeptical but in the end she took a small, blue satin ribbon from her hair and held it out in front of her, between the boy and other girl._

_"On your mark."_

_They both tensed, eyes level with each other._

_"Get set._

_"You're so going to lose." Pan'nuck muttered pompously._

_"Wanna bet?" Jaenirra replied._

_"Go!" Wenda dropped the ribbon to the ground and stepped back quickly as both fighters surged forward._

_Pan'nuck and Jaenirra locked arms while their hands pressed into each others shoulders, struggling to push the other over._

_The girl in white managed to break away and she stepped back._

_The orange-haired boy shot forward, thinking that she was retreating and this was his chance to knock her to the ground._

_Oh, the irony._

_She easily sidestepped him and grabbed his arm. Using his momentum, she placed another hand on his torso and pushed and twisted her hands simultaneously._

_Pan'nuck found himself on the ground, beet red and dazed, an instant later._

_"Ow." He croaked._

_Jaenirra and Wenda burst out laughing._

_"And that is why you should never mess with me, Jaenirra Flame, the best there ever was." The redhead peacocked._

_"Oh, you sure showed me." The boy rolled his eyes. He suddenly slipped his foot behind Jaenirra's bare one and tripped her so that she came crashing down beside him._

_"Ow," She rubbed her head. "You should really give some warning next time."_

_"You should've before you judo-flipped me." He retorted._

_The girl dressed in her tattered white dress shrugged. "Touche. But I feel like I'm missing something."_

_"Me, too."_

_They both turned to Wenda at the same time, eyes glowing with child mischief._

_The copper-haired girl back away slowly, hands held up in surrender._

_"No, thanks. I'd rather not get my dress any...woah!" She shrieked when both of them grabbed onto her hands and pulled her down hard._

_"Ugh!" Wenda picked at her blue, now brown and green stained, dress. "Saro is going to kill me."_

_"Don't worry about it." Pan'nuck told her over Jaenirra's giggling. "It's not the worst your clothes have seen."_

_"Yeah," Jaenirra agreed turning to her friend, "Remember that one time we fell into the dragon stables?"_

_"Don't remind me! I couldn't get the stench out of my hair for a week!"_

_"Shame," Her brother grinned, "Too bad you already smell like shit anyway."_

_"Pan'nuck! That's not very nice!" Jaenirra punched her friend in the shoulder._

_"Ow! Jeez, Jaenirra, I didn't mean it."_

_"Apology not accepted." Wenda said poutingly._

_"I love you?" He tried._

_"Denied."_

_"I'll give you twenty Cinnamon Sweets?"_

_"Also denied."_

_"Ugh!" Pan'nuck yelled, throwing his hands into the air. "Girls will never make sense."_

_"We're not supposed to. Keeps men guessing." Jaenirra winked._

_Pan'nuck blushed and turned to the azure sky, under which the three children lay, in order to hide his bashfulness._

_They lapsed into silence, watching the clouds that dotted the sky like sheep and listening to the sound of the stream clinking over shiny pebbles like pennies against each other._

_Jaenirra sighed contently._

_"What?" Wenda asked._

_"Nothing, I just-" She paused._

_"I just what?" Pan'nuck pushed._

_"I just wished that we could do this everyday for the rest of our lives, forever."_

_"Forever is an awfully long time." The other girl pointed out._

_"Yeah," The carrot-topped boy agreed. "I mean, you'd have to die sometime, right?"_

_"To die," Jaenirra closed her amber eyes. "Would be an awfully big adventure."_

_Pan'nuck and Wenda cast looks across to Jaenirra who continued to close her eyes._

_"Um, Jaenirra-" Pan'nuck started._

_"You sounded kind of strange there." Wenda finished._

_"Yeah, like you were gonna kill us or something."_

_"Maybe, I am." Jaenirra said evenly, raising her hand. A flame appeared on her forefinger. Though she had not yet mastered the art of the Flame, she still could summon it every now and then._

_But the boy did not know this and he paled._

_"I guess I'll just be going now, I forgot Mr. Tehrin gave us some homework." Pan'nuck began to get up but was stopped by the red-haired girl when she grabbed his tunic._

_"Aw, come on, Pan'nuck. Don't cha wanna stay?"_

_"With you? I'd rather not."_

_"Oh, come on, Pan. You now you want to stay with us." Wenda grabbed onto his shirt as well._

_"You want to stay with us forever." They said in unison._

_The boy screamed and bolted, leaving both girls rolling on the ground, holding their sides with laughter._

Pan'nuck broke away from the memory, severing the past from the present with a saw crafted from reality.

He had run like hell back to Saro, his nanny, and hidden behind her skirt with a great satisfaction when she beat down on Jaenirra and his sister for getting their dresses dirty and scaring the shit out if him.

Those were better times, better days, no matter how simple, transparent or silly they had seemed.

Pan'nuck lost himself in a daydream of how things used to be and how they could have been if Jaenirra's coronation day hadn't come so soon.

In Camalian society, the next Lady Summer, oldest daughter to the former, took over the position at three hundred years, no matter the circumstances.

Or, she could become so if the predecessor died before that time, which had occurred in this case.

Queen Alevia was loved by all except, as it turned out, by one.

The scene had been bloody.

Carcasses covered the floor, feylings massacred and tapestries torn.

And under the...

Pan'nuck's horrific thoughts were cut through by a blood curdling scream.

He knew that scream.

It was Jaenirra.

"Jaenirra!" Pan'nuck yelled, throwing back the light blanket that covered him.

Baby Tooth shot up, instantly alert and looking around with wide pink eyes.

She suddenly realized that her patient was not there, only a pile of blankets and pillows lay on the floor.

Pan'nuck raced through the long hallways of North's palace, shoving past toys, elves and yetis.

Though his side felt like a million swords stabbed at it and his lungs were on fire, he pushed on.

His mind sprinted almost as fast as he did.

Please don't let anything have happened, please don't let one of them be dead.

In his heart he already knew it had something to do with Jack and Jaenirra, neither of them could get along for more than two minutes before fighting.

"Move!" He shouted as he pushed away a yeti strumming a guitar. He heard a crash but he did not look back. Sliding around a corner, the bandaged boy came to the large oak doors that separated the rest of the building from the main workshop/headquarters.

Pan'nuck took no heed to the enormous size and instead burst through them.

The occupants in the room turned, startled, to the gasping boy.

"I...heard a...a scream." He managed to puff out.

He realized that for some weird reason, Jack was leaning against Tooth.

His eyes began to pick up what had gone down after that.

Jack's bleached face and hair was stained with blood like a crimson rain. Even his normally dark blue sweater was a dark brown color. And where he leaned on Tooth, blood matted her shimmering emerald and teal feathers.

Jaenirra stood not to far off, staring as her smoking hands in disbelief and, Pan'nuck could see a small remainder of it in her warm yellow eyes, malice.

The rest of the Guardians were all looking at her as well, Bunnymund in shock, Sandy in a mix of pity and horror, and North a look of pure rage.

Tooth remained a silent look of worry.

"What happened?" Pan'nuck asked.

"Oh, you know." Jack grinned, grittily. "Standard reunion."

"I attacked him." Jaenirra whispered. "And now he knows." She sighed.

"You mean?" Pan'nuck stopped.

"She told 'im the bloody reason 'e's 'ere!" Bunnymund yelled.

"Please stop all this yellin'" North interjected. " We've 'ad enough madness a'ready."

Sandman nodded in agreement. A picture of a bed and a question mark formed over his head.

"Sandy's right." Tooth nodded, still hanging onto Jack. "We should all go to bed. It's been a long day."

"Um, no thanks." The boy pushed away from her and picked up his staff painfully before leaning on it. "But I'd rather not. I'm afraid Jae here would terminate what's left of me."

"I would not." Jaenirra crossed her arms. Pan'nuck noticed a mini-fairy sleeping in her curls.

Tooth must work them over-time, he thought.

"And my name is not Jae." She added.

"Does it look like I care?"

Jaenirra growled.

"Aye!" North's voice shattered the tense air and everybody jumped. "We're all gonna go ta sleep and **not**," He sent a glare at both Jack and Jaenirra. They seemed to wilt into themselves. "Kill each otha. Is tat clear?" His Russian accent was extremely hostile and commanding. There would be no room for a no.

The teens both nodded.

"Good," North clapped his hands as if the incident had never happened. "We'll all sleep in da guest si' o' da 'ouse. Tooth, take Jack ta the infirmary an' get 'im some bandages. Bunny, Jaenirra, Pan'nuck, Sandy," He said turning to the others. "Follow me ta ya rooms."

They all nodded and Tooth helped Jack to the place where Pan'nuck had just come from.

Once they were gone, the rest of them followed North through another pair of doors. Night had fallen and the group walked along a narrow corridor that was dark except for several gas lamps that reflected off the windows in frequent intervals.

They were lined up like this:

North in the front.

Bunnymund hopping along beside him.

Sandy floating peacefully.

And Jaenirra and Pan'nuck with Varden in between them.

"I thought I told you to stay in bed." Jaenirra whispered to her friend, leaning towards him so that the others would not hear them.

"I made a promise to Baby Tooth that I would only leave if I heard someone in trouble."

"Who?"

"Baby Tooth. She's one of Tooth's little fairies."

"Oh yeah, her!"

"You have no idea who I'm talking about do you?"

"Nope."

Pan'nuck sighed. "So what happened back there?"

"Nothing." Her tone was quick and it was one meant to cut off all other questions. She then grabbed the fairy from atop her head and whispered to her: "Hey, why don't you go down to the infirmary and help Tooth with Jack?"

The feathered creature nodded blearily before flinting off.

"You can't get away from me that easily." Pan'nuck tugged her to a stop.

"Pan'nuck, let go!" She cast a look down the hallway, where North and the others continued to walk, oblivious to the fact that they were leaving the two teens behind.

"I don't want to get lost in here in the dark."

"You have fire powers and you've been here a million times. Now tell me, what happened in there?"

She glared at him and her eyes blazed with fury. They seemed to burn with hatred and malice like the kind he had seen when he had burst through those doors.

"I told you," She said, twisting her arm away. "Nothing."

Jaenirra turned and stormed away, her red hair looking like it was burning in the firelight.

"What has happened to her?" Pan'nuck wondered aloud.

Varden grunted as if to say, "How should I know?" And trotted after his master.

What was wrong with Jaenirra? She had never acted this way before, not in front of him at least.

What was causing her to act like this? Like a little bitch had possessed her?

Pan'nuck knew it couldn't be based all on Jack.

Or could it?

Pan'nuck sighed. His head throbbed and he felt like he was about to crash and burn.

Hard.

He decided to wait till morning to figure everything out and, hey who knows, maybe Jaenirra would be her regular self again.

The boy hoped and hoped with all his heart before following after Varden in the dark.

* * *

**Okay so I didn't use the dialogue that I said I would. **

**(See endnotes for Chapter 5)**

**But they will be coming.**

**Hope you liked it and found no errors.**

**And review. REVIEW! REVIEW! YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!**

**Okay, I'm just gonna go lie down now and read Mark of Athena and cry because of Percabeth and the fact that Rick Riordan is a motherfucking troll.**

***Cries hysterically because of the beauty of a shipping***

**Yeah, I have issues but who doesn't.**

**Also, I have a friend call That Girl Who is Awesome and she wrote a story called 'One Crazy Summer'**

**It's a work in progress but she is in desperate need of reviews. So if any of you have any amount of loyalty to me, you'll be dears and go read it. It's really funny and is a major crossover between Teen Titans, Kim Possible, Gravity Falls, Legend of Korra, Kane Chronicles and Heroes of Olmypus.**

**I think that's everything.**

**Review, please. **


	7. Chapter 7: The Darkness Inside the Light

**Sorry, I couldn't update sooner but I was busy with holidays and all. Plus, dealing with all my feels after seeing Rise of the Guardians two days before it came out with my friend. And to answer your questions;**

**No, Jack Frost will not end up like the Once-ler.**

**Yes, it is everything we could ever hope and dream for.**

**Yes, it will make you both laugh and cry.**

**Yes, Sandman and Pitch will end up being your favorite characters.**

**Anymore questions?**

**Yes? No? Maybe?**

**Just PM me.**

**Anyway, new chapter.**

**Not the best.**

**Enjoy.**

***tackle hug***

* * *

"Mom!"

Jaenirra shot up in her bed, gasping. Her forehead was dripping in sweat and her hair and clothes stuck to her skin.

A cool wind caressed her fragile mind.

"Calm down, Jaenirra." She whispered to herself. "It was just a dream, only a dream."

Or a nightmare.

The girl was slowly brought back to reality as she began to take in her surroundings, feeling the plushness of her mattress and the thick, warm of her fur blankets. The embers in the fireplace on the wall she faced glowed dully. Varden lay curled up near it, snoring loudly.

Bright sunlight streamed through thin white curtains. It was morning. She was here and the darkness was gone, along with her mother.

Jaenirra sighed and flopped her head back to her pillow. She gazed, eyes halfway open, at the chandelier ceiling which shone with the warm light of the rising sun, bathing the room in liquid gold.

The room was exactly like hers in the palace.

North's guest rooms were magical, transforming into a place most comfortable for the occupant.

Every wall was covered in light shelves carrying hundreds of books and other things she had collected over the years: multiple globes of all the planets in the solar system and worlds beyond, glass terrariums with exotic flora and knickknacks from outside, including beautiful fall leaves, spring bird nest, and a vast collection of gems and stones.

A white bureau squatted close to the mahogany door, crowned by a vase filled with a couple of yellow orchids.

Her bed was in the center of the room, majestic and yet humble and safe.

It was four-poster and made from the papery bark of the trees back home

Near a balcony looking onto the cliffs of the Pole, a set of white leather Roman couches crouched around a low lying glass coffee table.

On the table was a stack of books and a crystal bowl of golden apples, all laying together in a welcome sight. A stool rested in front of a splendorous golden harp that nestled in the corner nearest to the fireplace.

The air smelt of cinnamon and spice, like the throne room back home. Jaenirra took all this in and with every familiar sight, the nightmare slowly seeped away.

"Ah," she exhaled. "That's much better."

The thought of home comforted her, and while she was glad to be free of her duties, she was thankful for the magical properties of the rooms. It made her feel safe from the darkness. While she began to settle, she recollected the previous night.

Jaenirra groaned and covered her face with her pillow.

She had acted like such a bitch.

First, she had yelled at Tooth, then Pan'nuck and lastly, Jack.

Toothiana and Pan'nuck were her best friends and though Jack was not, she still should have never done what she had done. It was uncalled for. Mostly, she blamed it on stress but she knew that it was something else, something that haunted her.

Something that had been buried in her long ago and was now erupting back to the surface.

No, she couldn't dwell on such thoughts. Jaenirra sat up and threw back the covers.

"Come on!" She clapped her hands. "Rise and shine, Varden!"

Her dragon shot his head up and before groaning, settling back into the cushion he lay on.

"Oh, come on!" The redhead grabbed him and tried to pull him off of his bed.

Keyword: tried.

Varden simply rolled to his other side and she barely had time to slip her hands out from being crushed underneath his bulky weight.

She was catapulted back and lay sprawled against the foot of her bed.

"Fine," She huffed, pushing her fiery locks back into their rightful place. "Be that way. But you won't be getting any treats any time soon."

Jaenirra added.

Varden grunted as if to say he could give a fuck less.

The girl shrugged and stood up, limping up to a set of warped glass doors.

Limping as in she was wearing only one boot. The other lay in a tangle of bed sheets.

I must have slept with them on, she concluded.

She just shook it off as nothing and took off the shoe, tossing it on Varden who moaned in protest.

Jaenirra just chuckled lightly and stepped through the doors into a marbled bathroom.

She felt sweaty and conflicted, and a bath with some clean clothes sounded like just the thing.

A gilded tub with golden lion heads as legs squatted in the middle. Perfumes and soaps lined the white walls on top of plush cotton towels. Another door led to an entire wardrobe of clothes that would appear at her command in any assortment.

Jaenirra turned on warm water tap to the bath tub, letting it steam up the room as she strolled along shelves, running her fingers over soaps and shampoos to use.

"Let's see. We have cucumber watermelon, fresh pecans, gingersnap and witch hazel, eggnog, pickle and-"

She squinted, trying to see the label clearer.

"Bacon? Really, North?"

There were so many but she finally decided in a matching set of blackberries and honey scented shampoo and soap. She walked over to the tub and poured the scented soap bottle into the water. Jaenirra took a deep whiff and sighed deeply.

It smelled so good.

Like heaven, only with more berries and awesome shit.

By the time the mirror had fogged up, she had begun to take off her bulky coat. Jaenirra had then realized she was still wearing her gold sword, Agnis. The girl held it

length-wise in both of her hands and stared at it solemnly. She remembered last night's event's like a glass chandelier, distorted in some places but bright and clear in others.

She had almost used this sword on Pan'nuck.

She had let her demons almost take hold.

No!

Now was not the time, not now.

Jaenirra clenched the sword and her knuckles turned white.

She had always known there was something inside her that was different, she could see it in the way the Guardians sometimes looked at her.

Jaenirra loved her powers, she loved her job but sometimes she felt like her abilities were not worth the price they came with.

Jaenirra sighed and set Agnis on the sink marbletop.

Finally, she striped herself from the rest of her sweaty clothes and settled down into the heated water of the bath tub.

"Ooo, ooo," she squealed as she dipped a single toe into the thermal water. While Jaenirra's skin was fire-proof, that did not mean she couldn't feel hot temperatures. "Ah, that's feels soooo much bettered." She sighed as she slipped completely into the bubbly water.

As she soaked, she slipped into a half-consciousness.

Memories of walking down the dark hallway to her guest room erupted to the front of her mind.

_After pushing away Pan'nuck, Jaenirra stormed down the hall._

_She immediately felt guilty. She wanted to run back to him and tell him she was sorry, sorry for yelling at him, sorry for pushing him away when he had tried to help, sorry for everything. And after much apologizing he would crack one of his smart ass jokes and she would smile softly because she never laughed-not anymore she didn't._

_Varden appeared, instead, at her side and fell in step, Pan'nuck not to far behind._

_They didn't look at each other, they didn't speak._

_And gone was Pan'nuck's smile. It had always been there, wether hidden in his eyes or in plain sight, that smile was there._

_But, now it was gone and Jaenirra felt her heart wheeze before falling to her boots._

_She couldn't go on like this._

_She felt a burning in her chest, one that she knew had been there all day, but now...now it was an inferno, threatening to leap out and attack._

_She wanted to hurt somebody, to bash out their brains with a frying pan, burn their bloody guts and then feed the ashes to Varden._

_Kill, kill. Die, die, her head chanted. No! she screamed mentally._

_Jaenirra had to let it out, this darkness, this hatred._

_She raised a fiery fist. Pan'nuck's eyes widened._

_"Jaenirra, what're you-"_

_She let out a banshee's scream and turned, punching the wall and extinguishing the flame._

_She was shivering, breathing hard. What had she almost done?_

_"Jaenirra," North tested. "You is gut?"_

_She turned suddenly, as if just realizing everybody was watching._

_Her shaken glowing eyes met one pair of yellow reptilian, a pair of warm, homely gold, one of deep blue, a green meadow and an emerald._

_"Jaenirra?" Pan'nuck reached for her._

_She flinched away._

_"I'm...I'm fine." Her voice quivered. "I just need to be alone."_

_"Jaenirra, please." Her friend pleaded. "Let me help you."_

_"NO! I'm fine!" She screamed. "You can't help me! I can't do this anymore! I just need to...to."_

_To do what? Her mind hissed. You need to punch another wall, you need to hurt another friend? You need to what, girl? It spat._

_They were surrounding her, Bunnymund, Sandy, North, Pan'nuck and Varden, forming a circle and blocking out her light._

_It was overbearing and she couldn't take it._

_"Jaenirra, do you-"_

_"Nee' help?"_

_"Really, can we ge' you thing?"_

_Their voices all molded into one. Their stares burned into her head._

_"Jaenirra, Jaenirra, Jeanirra." They seemed to chant._

_Gripping her hair, she shouted. "Go away!" _

_She tried to shove past Pan'nuck but he grabbed her wrist in a vice-like grip._

_"Pan'nuck, please." Jaenirra looked pleadingly into his eyes and he saw something in her quaking amber eyes he had never seen before._

_She was desperate, she was trapped. _

_And he was the one holding her back._

_Where he thought he had been trying to help he could only see that he had been hindering her._

_Jaenirra did not need him, she needed nobody._

_And then he saw something else flash in her eyes like before._

_It was a shadow, a darkness hidden inside._

_He saw her hand inching towards the leather hilt of her sword and he knew she would not stop from using it on him._

_Jaenirra was headstrong and would do anything to get her way and though she would never hurt him normally, Pan'nuck was not sure now._

_Not after everything that had happened._

_The emerald eyed boy finally released her and she stumbled back, stumbling into Bunnymund._

_The girl looked like a wild animal in an unknown and unfamiliar place, and Pan'nuck swore this was a different queen than the one he knew._

_She was dangerous, she was willing, she was not Jaenirra Flame._

_Pushing past Bunnymund, Jaenirra ran down the dim hallway. She did not need North to guide her with a torch, she knew the way._

_Varden followed her but she took no notice as she raced through the dark corridors._

_Everything hurt, nothing made sense. _

_Jaenirra felt conflicted, she felt weak, she didn't know what to do._

_It was a shadow inside of her threatening to burst out._

_Agnis thumped against her side and seemed to mutter, _Hurry, hurry. Go, go. Away, away.

_That's right._

_She had to get away._

_From what, she did not know. The Sun princess just knew she had to hide from her demons._

_To get away, to get away._

_But how can you run from something that is already apart of you?_

_She made it to the room. Throwing open the door and closing it just as quick, she flung herself onto her bed, blocking Varden out. _

_The tears that had been threatening all night finally broke loose and the girl began to sob._

_What was happening to her? That she now let herself turn into a monster, screaming, wounding and...and...some how she enjoyed it._

_When that fire had burst out of her and hit Jack Frost, she had felt horrified in her actions but she had secretly found a flavor in it._

_She liked it, when Tooth had become frightened by her._

_Jaenirra liked it, when they looked at her with fear._

_When they finally realized she was in control, she was doing it right, she was becoming just what her mother had always wanted, a leader._

_She liked it when Pan'nuck heeded her, like a dog to it's master._

_She like the sweet, cool taste that stroked her tongue and filled her stomach with a fire that did not come from her inherited powers._

_It came from further inside, from within her shadows._

_From the monsters inside her._

That's what you are, a monster,_ her mind whispered. _Not even your own mother loved you! _It spat._

You know how she looked at you behind your back. Even from a young age you were born to be a demon, a twisted one.

A monster.

"No, no! I'm not a monster!" She scratched at her hair and glared at the moon piercing through the thin curtains.

_"I'm not a bad person. I'm a Guardian. I protect the children and the people. But, why," She sobbed, crumbling to the sheets. "Is it so MiM damned hard?"_

_The moon did not answer._

_He never did._

_Not once, no matter how many times her mother told her if she listened hard enough and felt it in her heart, did the Man in Moon ever speak._

_Jaenirra couldn't hold it in, she screamed._

_It was wild and unearthly, it did not belong on earth or hell._

_It ripped through the night and everybody in the Pole heard it, though they did not know who it was by-it sounded like a groken animals._

_She screamed and screamed for what seemed like hours until she could not utter one more sound, her throat was dead and hoarse._

_Only then did she curl into herself and fall into a fitful half-sleep._

_While tears streamed down her face, she failed to notice a figure in the shadows._

_Varden, even through the door could feel something wrong and growled._

_The figure walked up to the quaking girl, robes made of black sand twisting crookedly._

_"Ah," He mused. "So this is the legendary Secret Keeper? What a delicious little girl."_

_The man glanced at the moon shining through the balcony doors. " I must say, old friend, you know how to pick your women." The man pretended to think for a moment. "Though I must say there always seems to be something missing from them._

_"Oh, I know! A touch of fear." Leaning down, he swirled a bit of obsidian dust from his cloak and sent it towards her. The girl collapsed into herself, becoming a feeble ball of cold darkness._

_A beam of moonlight shone into the man's yellow eyes. Raising a hand to shield them, he began. "Oh, my dear friend!" He strode towards the outside and materialized through the glass balcony doors to adress the ivory glow, hands held out in a gesture of negotiation. "Don't look at me that way, she needed help. After all, it's not like you do anything at all to help your poor Guardians." He spat. "Why look at Jack, and Pan. They look up to you every night and what do you do? You give them the cold shoulder. You shut them out, just like you shut out me!" The dark man shouted. _

_Jaenirra whimpered in her sleep and turned over._

_"Hush now, my sweet," He stepped through the glass once more to the side of the bed. "It's only a nightmare, nothing to be afraid of." He stretched out a finger to stroke a lock of red hair from her closed eyes._

_Turning back to the moon, he grinned, sharpened teeth gleaming. "I will learn the secrets that she holds and you will fall to the fear that will course through the world. All of your Guardians will fall."_

_Varden scratched at the door, threatening to barge in._

_"Whoops, that's my cue!" Cackling, he slipped under Jaenirra's bed just as the golden dragon burst through the doorway, growling, hackles raised._

_But the dragon found nothing left of Pitch as the Nightmare King slipped away into the night._

* * *

**Yay! How awesome am I? I introduced Pitch!**

**Not that cool?**

**Okay, I admit. It was not my best chapter but nontheless, it is a chapter.**

**Sorry, if I couldn't met your needs and now you are unfollowing me and now I am crying.**

**Oh, one more thing.**

**So I got my first hate review and let me just say, I thought I could handle such a small, insignificant review.**

**Turns out I can't.**

**So that is probably one of the reasons why I stared at the computer for three hours, surfing the Tumblr tag and watching TV spots and trying to get motivated.**

**So when pointing fingers for the reason I took so long to update, lend an entire hand-making factory to that single hate.**

**Just kidding, I love you all.**

**And now I will go start on my Deepwater Horizon oil spll science fair project that is due by the end of this week that I haven't even started on.**

**_Fuck you, science project._**

**Anyway, you know the drill, review.**

**REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!REVIEW!**

**Just do it, please.**

***BIG hug***


	8. Chapter 8: A Green-Painted Morning

**I am soooooooo sorry I took so long. *Sobbing***

** Can you ever forgive me? **

**No, okay. I get it, I was extremely slow in writing this between studying for final exams, logging the hours for my band concert we're having, watching my little sister and so many other things you probably could give a fuck less about.**

**It was also my birthday so I guess that counts. (I am officially a teen! Yay!)**

**Anyway, this chapter goes more into Jaenirra and Pan'nuck's heritage as well as some more details about Camalia. Some of it pretty irrelevant but other stuff is very important.**

**Also, just to clear things up. In Camalian terms, twenty mortal years equals one for Camalians. **

**So Pan'nuck is three hundred and eighty or nineteen and Jaenirra is three hundred and sixty or eighteen, so technically yes, they are legal.**

**Means I can do more stuff with them.**

**Jack will be internally eighteen in this fanfic even though I say, "Screw Dreamworks and they're timelines, he's fourteen."**

**Jaenirra lost her mother when she was twelve. **

**So on that happy note. THE EIGHTH CHAPTER! YAAAAAAAAAAAY!**

* * *

One thing you always learned with Pan'nuck: Never, ever, EVER, wake a sleeping man. Period.

You will find a knife up your ass and a pillow down your throat.

Sleep and let sleep was his motto and everybody knew it.

If the world caught on fire in the middle of the night, best to let him carry on sleeping.

But apparently certain **_people_** decide to take that rule and bang it up with a sledgehammer.

Pan'nuck was awoken to something in his bed, or more like someone.

Even though his eyes were half closed and his mind was still groggy, he could feel the cold and mischief radiating off the person not six inches from him.

The redhead groaned and covered his face with a pillow.

" Jack, what the fuck are you doing in my bed?" He mumbled through the thick padding.

" What aren't I allowed to?" Came the smirking boy's reply.

"No, you're not so get out."

"Aw, come on Pan. What's it between friends?" Jack was sitting cross legged right next to Pan'nuck's face, his pale hands holding his staff across his lap. The white-haired teen's head was wrapped with gauze as pure as his hair from last night's episode. It seemed both boys had taken a beating.

That Jaenirra, Pan'nuck thought, will be the end of us both.

"First of all, I'm sleeping and second of all, why don't you go bother Bunny? I'm sure he'd appreciate the company." Pan'nuck rolled over to his other side, away from the winter spirit.

"Trust me, the kangaroo is the last person who wants to see me. _Jaenirra too_**_._**_"_

He muttered the last part but Pan'nuck heard him loud and clear.

The resting boy's green eyes popped open.

He immediately knew something was up, his ears were tingling.

"Jack,"

"Mhm?"

"What did you do?"

There was silence.

Knew it! He's hiding something.

Pan'nuck shot up. He did it so fast that Jack lurched back as well and fell off the bed.

The Camalian glared down at him on the floor.

"What did you-"

He didn't even finish his sentence when he heard someone shout.

"Jack Frost, you son of a bastard! Get back here!"

It was Jaenirra and she sounded royally pissed.

Pan'nuck sighed and looked sideways at the giggling winter spirit.

"Is it an animal?"

They were playing Twenty Questions like they always did when trying to figure out a certain prank. The winter spirit wrapped his hands around his staff and crossed his legs once more, getting into a more comfortable position.

"Nope." Was the barely controlled reply. Jack was trying to keep from laughing his ass off but failing miserably. It was already halfway to South Africa.

"A vegetable?"

"No."

"A mineral?"

"Is paint considered a mineral?"

"You didn't."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Jack had the most innocent look on his face Pan'nuck almost believed him.

Almost.

His mind completely changed when Jaenirra kicked the door open.

"Jack Frost, you will die and you will die today."

She pointed her sword and the most murderous look on her face.

Pan'nuck thought the Guardians might as well pit her against Pitch right now cause there was no way that the guy would win.

She wore about the same thing she had yesterday, other than wearing a trench coat that reached to her knees and a tight, red leather tunic that accented her features so nicely Pan'nuck felt himself staring.

No, bad Pan'nuck, he scolded. We do not fantasize about friends. Not even if her -Nope! Not going there!

It all went together very nicely and gave her a dangerous, untamed and yet beautiful look.

At least without the green paint splattered all over it.

It dripped on the white carpet of his room and her hair-good MiM, her hair-was also green and in the shape of a mohawk, stuck there with what Pan'nuck knew was ice.

Jack's ice.

It was at least two and half feet tall and how she had managed to not knock it off when she had burst through the doorway was beyond Pan'nuck.

"Jaenirra, I can explain," Jack popped his head over the top of the bed and held up his hands in a negotiating gesture but there was a laughing in his voice. "I had no idea that was paint."

"Nice try, Jack. The can says 'green paint' on it. I'm not an idiot, I can read."

"Gold star for you."

Jaenirra shouted with rage and shot forward, sword held at an uppercut angle.

Pan'nuck leaped out of the way, knowing fully well if he hadn't, he would have been sliced to bits. Jack was a good friend, a maniacal prankster but Pan'nuck wished him the best.

When Jaenirra was mad, you might as well go and tie yourself to a train track before trying to calm her down.

Jack yelped and quicker than the green-eyed boy could blink, the frost sprite had completed an aerial flip over the raging girl's shoulders and was out the door, laughing all the way.

It all happened so quickly that Jaenirra didn't even have time to stop. Her knees hit the edge of the bed and she stumbled, landing in the most painful angle on Pan'nuck's bed; on her face.

Still in momentum, her body was carried after her and for a moment, her back bent in the way that only experienced gymnast could achieve. She came to a stop, abdomen halfway off the side of the bed with a 'Da fuck just happened.' look on her face.

It was a miracle she hadn't impaled either of them with her sword.

Pan'nuck craned his face over hers with a cocked eyebrow.

"How did this happen,_ exactly?"_

"I was painting eggs with Bunny and next thing I know-BOOM! I'm covered in this stuff and my hair looks like this." She said gesturing to her fanciful mohawk.

"It looks nice. You should keep it." He said with a smirk.

"Oh, ha-ha." She rolled her amber eyes. She pushed herself off the edge of his bed and winced as she rolled her shoulder. "I'll kill him."

"Try not to have to much fun."

"No promises, just flames." She winked once and ran back out into the hallway after Jack, a smile on her lips.

The guy sighed inwardly. Well, there goes that one.

Hope you have an extinguisher, North.

And then he thought, Oh my Mother Goose-fucking MiM, did she just smile?

He couldn't help a grin come across his face.

It had been decades since he had seen a smile, a _real_ smile on her solemn face.

"Congrats, Jack Frost. You just accomplished something in five minutes that I couldn't in eighty years. My hat's off to you."

He stretched out his back like a cat and rose from his mattress.

He winced.

His ankle still hurt like a bitch.

After a couple more steps he could at least walk without limping. The cuts and bruises were almost gone, partially due to his kind healing a lot quicker than most and the other part due to Tooth's fairies practically magic hands.

Pan'nuck opened a small wooden wardrobe across from his small Roman-like bed. Everything in the room was like a soldiers' barrack. Next to his bed was a small wooden table with a ceramic dish and a towel with a bar of soap. Under a large enough window was a low bookcase with several books on war, pranks and- don't tell Jaenirra- girl magazines that were filled with pictures definitely above a PG rating.

Other than that and the wardrobe, there was nothing else in the room. Pan'nuck just wasn't that kind of guy to have twenty of the newest and coolest things. He was pretty happy with only getting the minimum.

There was a time when that was all he got. His mother was a Camalian peasant and his father...well...his father was not even Summer Fey.

_Alevia walked hurriedly to the nursery, a smile on her face, her ivory colored, calf height Victorian boots clicking on the tile. A cream colored dress with little golden accents billowed behind her. Her bronze hair caught the light and it seemed to set a fire down her loose curls and show off her golden circlet of power as if to say, 'Here is a beautiful and strong queen. Respect her.' _

_It was morning and today, after along debate with the those withered old hags, she would be allowed to go to Helicon, the town below the Palace. _

_She passed servants and maids that bowed low and called, "Good morning, Queen Alevia."_

_But she payed no attention to them. They were a part of the background and besides, this was one of the few days she could enjoy freely and she was going to use it to spend time with her daughter. Arriving at a set of white doors, she carefully opened it. A large, rudy woman stood in the corner of the bright room near the window, rocking a bundle of golden blankets back and forth. _

_"How is she?" The Queen whispered._

_"She's goin' ta sleep now. 'Ad to force three bo'les down 'er throat before she went be'y bye." Saro replied. She said it an almost complaining tone but the hint of a smile danced across her chocolate eyes. Saro had an accent to rival North's and just as much brute strength but under all of her tough nanny armor, she loved and adored any child she came across._

_"Good, good. Can you go and get a couple more for the trip? I'll hold her." Alevia walked into all the way to the room and held out her arms for the baby girl. Saro gently placed her into the crook of her mother's arms before busying off to pack for Alevia's trip to the town._

_Alevia rocked the babe back and forth, staring at her newly born daughter with a loving adoration. _

_After awhile Jaenirra opened her wonderfully sparkling amber eyes. They glowed with a blank wonderment at her mother._

_"Hello, Jaenirra." She cooed. "Are you ready to go to Maralian's house? I hear she has a son just about a year older than you but I haven't seen him yet. Those Muses' are very stubborn people, you know? Especially that Calliope."_

_She continued to whisper little things to Jaenirra, staring into each others eyes with an intimacy that only a mother and child could know. _

_Yes, they were separate beings but in mind and soul, they were very much connected._

_All the pain she had gone through in pregnancy; the violent mood swings, the spontaneous food cravings at two o'clock in the morning, swollen ankles, the vile herbs taken every night to insure a healthy baby, even the vomiting, had all been worth it to birth such a beautiful child. _

_She had her mother's hair, face and nose but her chin and eyes were completely her father's._

_Oh, Jaenirra's father. What had happened?_

_One moment they had been in love, stealing kisses between meetings and meals, writing love letters when gone on long journeys and having the occasional sun-frilled picnic that always ended with a dance by light of the stars._

_She remembered her skin against her own as they breathed with the same rhythm. She remembered his caress and the way she said his name. _

_Koz. It was a nickname and one he much rather preferred._

_She was hopelessly blinded by love, so much so, that she hadn't seen the heartbreak coming until it was stabbing her heart with a blade crafted from lies and betrayal._

_Before, his golden eyes had been her lantern in the tunnels of an unknown path but now she had Jaenirra, and her daughter's eyes were brighter that a thousand suns._

_They illuminated everything and it was all clear._

_Alevia knew who she was, where she was going and what she had to do._

_And that was to be a mother and raise her daughter happily and prosperously._

_She was almost glad he had left her, it left more room for the Queen to raise her daughter how she wanted with no one else to tell her otherwise._

_"Ma'am?" Saro appeared with a small satchel. "I go' yer bo'les and I was a wonderins if ya migh' nee' a coach ta take ya ta Helicon."_

_"What?" Alevia was so entrapped by Jaenirra's soft orange wisp of hair she had not noticed the maid return. "Oh, no thank you, Saro. I'm already having Kasturk take me."_

_She was talking about the old coachman that had been driving the royal carriage since before her own mother was born. The man was like a grandfather to her. _

_Saro helped her to get dressed in her outing cloak and bundle the new princess with a charmed blanket that was believed to keep away bad spirits in the first couple of months of life, after that it was more like a security blanket that toddlers dragged around while picking their noses. _

_Alevia then ventured to the front courtyard of the splendorous castle were a gilded carriage door that was being gallantly held open by a kindly, balding man. _

_"Thank you, Kasturk." She said, settling onto the cushion seat._

_He smiled and nodded before closing the door and hopping to the driver's seat. _

_"Don't ya be makin' any unnecessary trips inta da fores' or o'er da mou'ain, ya hear Mr. Saraphim ."_

_"Don't worry, Miss Lionel. We'll just be takin' the main road."_

_Picking up a whip, he snapped it twice and the white horses began to move across the cobblestone driveway. _

_As the buggy passed the steps of the Palace, Alevia peeked her head into the frame of the window and held up Jaenirra._

_"Say bye, darling." She whispered and shook her daughter's pudgy hand up and down. "Say bye to Saro."_

_As the carriage pulled further away from the maid, Alevia settled into her seat and rocked Jaenirra._

_The Palace wasn't considerably far from town, about five miles or so through fields of golden apple trees, over a small creek and a small sprint to the guards gate where they would be let through. After that, it was a short time through the town and to a small cottage where Maralian Peterson lived with her new son. _

_Maralian had had the boy about one Camalian year ago and Alevia had never laid eyes of the child._

_In fact, she hadn't seen Maralian in quite awhile. She had not been invited to the wedding ceremony and the only way she heard of her friend's pregnancy was through the gossip of the maids. Other than that, it had been almost forty mortal years since the Queen had seen her partner-in-crime and she didn't think she could wait any longer. She had so much she wanted to catch up with, their lives, their children, their homes._

_Hell, Alevia didn't even know where Maralian worked. Last she had checked, it was an apothecary. _

_A wheel on the carriage suddenly popped up and over a large rock in the middle of the road and Jaenirra let out a cry with the sudden movement._

_"Shh, shh," Alevia murmured and bounced the girl in her arms. "Just a little bump, shhh." _

_With her mother's quiet hushing, Jaenirra soon settled down and became accustom to the rocking of the carriage as it moved to the dirt road that wound towards the outside world._

_It had been very long since the monarch had traveled outside. _

_Sure, she walked among the groves of white-barked trees and spent a little while with Sanderson in one of the occasions that they got together to discuss ideas for new and different dreams but most of the Guardians were busy with their work, as was she._

_The day was warm with a crisp, cool fall breeze that snapped through the air. Much of the wildlife of Camalia could be seen if such a day. _

_Yellow canaries twittered around, hares and squirrels of all colors raced each other up trees or down holes. Leaves waved and rustled her way, whispering long awaited greetings, little flowers raised their oriented heads and bowed along with the wind at the passing carriage. The sun was like a golden coin in the sea, reflective against the blue of the sky streaked with thin wisps of clouds that lay strung like harp strings waiting to be stroked by the heavens. It was all very beautiful._

_Alevia enjoyed the view of the passing world as Kasturk's voice floated to through the wind and wrapped it's way around her like a blanket of warmth._

_He was singing an old war song called "I'll Go Marching Off to War." _

**_"Oh, I had meself a girl and a fine one was she too._**

**_But she left me for another and I sailed to Ranganoo._**

**_But I goes that's just life so I'll go marching off to war_**

**_And heartbreak shall not find me anymore."_**

_His singing was deep and rich, like a creamy, dark chocolate and to say that he was not a good singer was a flat out lie._

_He was a Camalian and Camalians were greatly known for their scholars, poets, dancers, actors and most of all, their voices._

_Alevia joined him in time for the chorus._

_"_**_I'll go marching off to war._**

**_I'll go marching off to war._**

**_I'll beat back those savages and go marching off to war._**

**_Over hills and dales and mountains, my sorrow will not reach me._**

**_I'm off to the battling ground to die among the silver trees._**

**_And though her lips were like flowers_**

**_On the autumn breeze_**

**_There's nothing like the war that is calling out to me."_**

_They were nearing the large guards' gate and Alevia could see the cool morning stone that were beginning to bake in the morning sun._

_There were two towers on either side of the iron wrought fence that separated the Palace road from the one to Helicon._

_Several of the golden-armored men marching along the top noticed the unmistakable bald head of Kasturk and shouted out greetings and laughter._

_"How ya doin', Kas?" One called from the high bridge atop the gate. He was a young, rugged, handsome figure with a happy glimmer in his eyes._

_"Jus' goin' ta town, Mangus. Got ta drop off little Miss Alevia 'ere." Kasturk replied, smiling up at the man and blinking against the sun._

_"Ya got the Queen down there?" Mangus looked wide-eyed with shock._

_"Sure do."_

_Alevia took that as a chance to lean out the window and wave._

_"Hello, Mangus. Do you mind opening the gate for the Princess and I?" She said sweetly, also shielding her eyes from the blaze of the sun._

_Mangus blinked twice before processing her words as an order and yelling to the gate manager to lift the gate._

_With a bang and a clatter it began to rise. Kasturk nodded and Alevia waved good-bye as they trotted past._

_The carriage continued on, winding down the town's road, up and down hills were large farmers' sheep grazed._

_Unlike many of the Guardians cultures whose were broken and tattered, the last and only of their kind, Camalia was a thriving kingdom, full of knowledge and people who lived normal lives much like mortals did on the world below._

_There was a shout and the startled monarch looked to see children running alongside the carriage, laughing and calling to their friends to come and see Queen Alevia's carriage along with the Princess._

_Houses began to pass by and Alevia saw town's people coming out to watch the passing horses and carriage._

_Kasturk had to slow the white horses as they traveled on the busy main street._

_People hustled and bustle about. A woman dragged her protesting son to get in line for the cold cuts butchery. Men walked in and out of the betrothal, and gaggles of young girls window shopped, goggling over young men. _

_A group of teen boys played a game of Catch-Flame in an alley way where the rules were much like Hot-Potato but with a real burning wooden ball and the object was to get as many hits as you could on the ball in the most peculiar way; the crazier the movement the better._

_The town was full of life, moving and warping together, chaotic and yet orderly in some fashion. Alevia enjoyed the sounds of vendors shouting, women beating out the carpets on five-story, wooden, group homes, chicken squabbling and children screaming._

_The air smelled of cooking bread, the sweat of people mingling together in great masses and the freshly baled hay._

_While most lords and ladies of the Court would be most horrified and disgusted to find themselves in such a place, Alevia found herself enjoying it and her mahogany eyes ate up everything._

_But she almost lost hope in that moment of ever finding Maralian._

_What if her friend had changed her look by cutting her hair or growing it out? What if she wasn't at her old home? What if she had moved to a new house with her unknown husband?_

_So many thoughts ran through her head that she almost missed seeing the little girl on the sidewalk._

_As the carriage proceeded down the crowded street, squeezing through carts pulled by donkeys and maids carrying water to their masters' and mistresses' homes, the carriage almost came to a complete stop._

_It was a good thing to._

_Alevia was wrapping Jaenirra more tightly into her loosening blanket-the baby had fallen asleep and was unknowingly kicking the clothe off of her hot feet-the monarch noticed a girl with big hazel eyes and a beaten dress staring at her._

_Just staring, her gaze unbent as it met Alevia's._

_The woman immediately felt a chill go down her back._

_No one ever looked at her that way, not a commoner or a servant at least. _

_Saro, Kasturk and a few others were exceptions but everybody who was not in her close circle either gazed nervously at the floor or into the distance as they addressed her but never, ever directly into her eyes._

_But there was also a knowing in the girl's eyes, as if she knew anything and everything about Alevia; the good, the bad, and the ugly._

_Everything. _

_It was slightly nerve-wracking but then the girl smiled and darted forward. She weaved under passing peoples arms and skirted around carts, her burgundy braid swaying as she avoided the maelstrom of people walking._

_The girl stopped right in front of Alevia's window, smiling and for a moment, Alevia was fearful and she clung Jaenirra to her breast as she stared into the young girl's eyes, mahogany upon hazel._

_But then that moment passed when she held up a small bouquet of lavender periwinkles._

_"For you, ma'am." She muttered shyly, blushing slightly behind her freckles._

_Alevia was sat stock still before realizing what the girl was doing and took the flowers. No one had given her periwinkles since...since Koz._

_"Thank you..."_

_"Margenir." The girl finished for her._

_"Oh...uhm...all right then." She didn't know what to say and the carriage wasn't moving so they were left with an awkward silence._

_"Your baby is beautiful." Margenir burst. "May I see her?"_

_"I guess so." Alevia held up Jaenirra cautiously so that she could see._

_"She's adorable." The girl squealed and tickled the baby lightly who in turn looked at Margenir while giggling._

_Seeing that the girl meant no harm, Alevia laughed, "Yes, she is. Her name is-"_

_But she was cut of by the burgundy-haired girl._

_"Jaenirra. Yes, I know her name." She did not meet astonished look on the mother's face._

_"But her name hasn't even been released yet."_

_In Camalia, the new heirs' name was not told to the public until two months after they had been born. This was so that when the baby was born no ill-will could be spoken toward their name. _

_It was ancient custom left over from the civil war that had once ravaged across Camalia between the natives and the immigrating witches._

_Witches, when given a name, could inflict any sort of harmful spell towards a person but Camalians, with there thick fire-proof skin, magic could not get in. Babies were different, their skin didn't fully thicken until about a month and a half after they were born, then their names were told among others at a large gathering that followed with festivities._

_Jaenirra was a month of age._

_Seeing the Queen's suspicious glare, Margenir quickly said, "I'm a gypsy child ma'am. My eyes can see farther than others."_

_"Oh!" Now everything made sense. Gypsies were Divinators and some had the ability to see into the future or things others couldn't._

_"I can take you to your friends house if you like. She lives just over the hill to the east." She said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder._

_Alevia hesitated._

_What if it was a trap? Or a way to steal her money?_

_But no, the girl was just a child and she could see that the gypsy meant her no harm._

_Besides, Alevia could fight, she wasn't helpless._

_"Kasturk!" The woman shouted over the other voices._

_"Yes, my Queen?" The man looked startled from the argument he was having with a cabbage man._

_"This girl is going to take me to see Maralian." She gestured towards Margenir who straightened immediately now that the attention was focused on her._

_"Hello, Kasturk." She waved timidly._

_The man's eyes softened. "Oh, Margenir, my dear! How are you? The boys and your father holding up well?"_

_"Doing well but they're a handful." The girl laughed._

_"Wait, you know each other?" Alevia pointed to each of them in turn, shock written upon her face._

_"Yes, she is my cousin's daughter."_

_"Twice removed." Margenir added._

_"You're in good hands." Kasturk confirmed. "I'll wait here while you two go."_

_Margenir nodded and beckoned with her hand for Alevia to come along. _

_The woman opened the door with one hand and the other holding Jaenirra in the crook of her arm. Her eyes darted across the ground and she saw there was now place to step without risk of getting her beautiful cream dress dirty._

_"Don't worry ma'am," Margenir said, taking her hand to help Alevia down the two steps. "It's not all bad."_

_"Thank you," Alevia muttered._

_Margenir beamed and gestured for Alevia to follow her through the crowds as they wound their way to Maralian's house, where the woman waited, unknowingly, with her half-breed son._

* * *

**So for those of you that haven't figured it out yet, this will be a two-parted memory. **

**No, this is not Pan'nuck's memory; it is a memory from the past because I just do stuff like that.**

**Also, in my head (which is very dark and twisted) MiM is basically the Guardians equivalent of God. Not that they worship him or anything just when they curse and stuff they say "Great MiM." or "MiM dammit."**

**I'd also like to hear who you think Jaenirra's father might be. It'd be very stimulating.**

**Now on to my regular crack of what I have been doing lately.**

**One is definitely not reading Witch and Wizard manga volumes and crying from all the feels of Byron and Whisty shippings. (Right in the feels, James Patterson!)**

**The other is not shipping Robin and Raven in Teen Titans.**

**That is all.**

**I'd send you a hug but here is a bunny.**

**(\/)**

**(. . )**

**C(")(")**

**Review please! **


	9. Chapter 9: A Golden Prophecy

**Hey guys! Hope you all had a great whatever it is you celebrate! And have a happy New Year, too. **

**I'm also opening myself up to beta-reading so be free to ask me to proof-read a story you have. I'd be honored to work with any of you.**

**I guess that's all unless I decide to come back and change this author's note.**

* * *

"Maralian?"_ Alevia tried as she stepped through the door and into the strange threshold._

_It was smaller than she was used to._

_Shelves with various corked bottles and other herbs lined the walls._

_Of course, after all Maralian was a mid-wife as Margenir had said on their way here._

_Sparse, yet comfortable looking furniture perched on the ash wood floor. Small windows with flowing lace curtains opened to let in the valley air and sunlight. It was feeble compared to the Palace but it held a homely and loving air to it and it smelled of fresh flowers. _

_Alevia glanced around the room and saw a rickety table topped by a green-glass wine bottle containing golden wisteria._

_Oh, that's why it smells so nice, she thought. Approaching it, she single handedly-for the other hand held Jaenirra-she place the periwinkles that had been given to her in the jar._

_For a moment she stared at them. The girl had given them to her and then lead her through the town, which had changed much since Alevia had last visited it. After trekking up and down the emerald hills that lay just outside it, the girl and women arrived at a small cottage atop a hill were the wind blowed forcefully, tugging the grass into sweeping waves._

_It was like a green ocean, stretching out to the azure morning horizon. It was beautiful the way the world looked in such a moment, when you felt insignificant but everything you did threatened to change the world in a heartbeat. Was she strange to feel that way?_

_"This is where our journey ends." Margenir paused and looked at Alevia in a way that made the Queen shift uncomfortably with her child. Those eyes seemed to know so much, more than even the timeless Muses could possibly understand._

_"I see." Alevia replied. _

_They were about ten feet away from the front door now. The windows were open and Alevia wished to crane her head inside to take a look around._

_"No, you do not." The gypsy replied sharply, her eyes burning with such sudden ferocity. Alevia backpedaled immediately._

_"Everything will be different when you come out of this dwelling." She gestured to the house behind them. "Things will occur that you will not be able to control as you walk into here."_

_"I-I'm sorry." The woman stuttered. "But I'm a-afraid I don't understand what it is you are saying."_

_"No, you do not." The girl's voice was hard and emotionless. Where was the girl that had lead her here, that had laughed and given her that smile? Where was the girl with the burgundy braid and the pretty periwinkles?_

_Not here, her mind whispered, she never was. _

_"There is to be a darkness someday and it will not involve you but her." She pointed to the baby in the Queen's arms. Alevia instinctively clutched her child to her chest. "A darkness more violent than anything seen before. Now, I will tell you something I ought not to. Listen carefully." She beckoned for Alevia to come closer and the woman timidly obeyed. _

_Margenir spoke hurriedly and in hushed tones, her hazel eyes darting around as if afraid someone would over hear. _

_Her soul is a shattered thing, Alevia thought, she has many different forms changing all the time._

_And then: Where did I ever get that idea?_

_"Three souls bound by the heart_

_One from mortal heritage will take part_

_Another from the fire and one from the ice_

_Debt will be paid for a crimson price."_

_Alevia's head shot up. _

_Mortal heritage?_

_One of ice and one of fire?_

_And what debt with a crimson price? _

_"From bleeding lips comes a lingering kiss_

_As the broken fall into the forgotten abyss_

_The shadows come from deep inside_

_Now longer will the demons hide." Margenir continued, oblivious to the woman's shock._

_"Spilling forth from lonely eyes_

_One will fall and two will rise_

_From the golden sword will come unbreakable sorrow_

_Unfit to be found in the promised child's tomorrow."_

_What this girl was speaking made no sense. She should be in a loony-bin, she's absolutely mad._

_"I'm not lying." Margenir snapped as if sensing the Queen's thoughts. "I myself do not know what it means. The future may always be changing and showing only the smallest of glimpses but this is absolute. And you will be able to do nothing about it."_

_The girl finished on the dark note and they stood in silence, the wind buffeting around them with quiet whisperings._

_What did all of it mean?_

_Was this girl really crazy or did her words ring with truths? Alevia glanced down at Jaenirra who yawned in response to her mother's worried gaze. The fire part was an easy one. There was only one kind of peoples who controlled fire in the world of the Guardians. But what did all that other mortal and ice bullshit mean?_

_"I will go now, your friend is expecting you." Margenir smiled, completely changing character as she flounced away down the hill and back to the the bustling folks._

_"Oh, I'm sorry just one moment." came a familiar voice. The royal woman's head shot up, placing the spoon she had subconsciously been fiddling with back onto the tabletop. Alevia turned to see a walking basket. What?_

_No, there was somebody behind the large mass and the Queen had a feeling she knew who it was. _

_"Ack! Pan'nuck just give me a moment, Mommy has to work for a second."_

_The woman stumbled over something but Alevia could not see what it was._

_"Hold on just let me set this down and I'll be right with you." Her head appeard from behind the woven container a smile on her face. It then turned to one of shock and she dropped the basket on the floor, sending various fruits and vegetables everywhere._

_ The woman's mouth gapped. Her hair was done up in a messy bun and she wore a brown, long-sleeved cotton dress with a white apron._

_"Oh my MiM, Alevia?" Her ruby eyes widened as she stared at her best friend._

_"Yes." Alevia whispered. There were tears in her eyes. It had been so long._

_Too long. _

_And now they were standing here, face to face. She could reach out and touch her friend._

_Suddenly Maralian rushed forward and embraced her with a hug._

_"Oh my MiM. Oh my MiM! It's really you!" She sobbed through happy tears. "Oh, let me look at you."_

_She pulled away suddenly to grasp Alevia's face with two calloused hands. "Mhmm," she scrunched up her nose. "A bit skinny and a little too pale."_

_Alevia laughed and pushed her friend away gently but still held her by the forearms. "Oh, Maralian, it is so good to see you again."_

_"And you." her friend replied, "I hear there was a little princess born."_

_Alevia held up her daughter, "There was." and handed her over to Maralian._

_She gasped as she looked down at the sleeping girl. "She's beautiful." Maralian sat down at the table chair._

_Alevia smiled and was suddenly gripped with a feeling of goodwill. "Here let me help me with these." She began to pick up the fruits and vegetables that strewn the floor._

_"Oh no." Maralian protested. "I was just making dinner but now I want to spend time visiting with you. After all, you won't be staying long will you?"_

_"Don't worry. I have the entire day off." _

_"The Muses allowed it?"_

_"They put up a fight but I put a better one." Alevia grabbed a rogue lychee and rolled it around in her fingers as she smirked at it. They fell into a silence as Alevia neatly placed the items back into there respectable places and Maralian cooed over Jaenirra._

_"She looks exactly like you." The herbist said. "If only I could see her eyes. I bet they're like her father's."_

_Alevia paused as she set a full basket on to the table next to her, a faraway look on her face. It had finally come up. The father._

_"Yes," she whispered. "Exactly like her father's." His golden eyes. His eyes burning into her as he held her close, burning with love. She might never see that look again. A drop of water splashed against the wood of the table. Alevia raised a shaking hand to her cheek. It was wet and before she knew it she was sobbing into Maralian's shoulder._

_"Shhh, shhhh." Her friend whispered. "It's okay, it's okay." She pulled away and held Alevia at arm's length. "Tell me what's wrong."_

_"Oh, no." The Queen chuckled darkly, wiping her eyes with her dress sleeve. "It's fine. Where's Jaenirra?" She asked changing the subject and looking over Maralian. _

_"She's in Pan'nuck's crib." Maralian showed Alevia over to her child, where the babe lay peacefully in a carved crib. Alevia reached down a stroked a stray curl of fiery hair from Jaenirra's face. It was strange, seeing her child like this while remnants of tears stuck to her face. One moment they had been tears of joy and now they were ones of sorrow. She had not cried like that since she had found the letter. Such a beautiful letter too. The paper was snow white, the ink dark and thick like the sea at night and a red ribbon wrapped it tight. It was amazing what a small thing like ink and a piece of paper could do to the heart, to the entire outcome of a future. _

_One without a father or a husband._

_"I forgot to ask you." Alevia mused. "I heard you had a child but I never saw him. I mean, I've heard you call his name but never actually seen his face. Where is he?" _

_It was an innocent question but the moment she turned to Maralian she could see something was wrong. Her ruby eyes darted around like a trapped animal, like Alevia had just pinned her like a butterfly to a board. _

_Defenseless and scared._

_"Well, um..." She paused and licked her lips nervously._

_"Mum, when's lunch going to be ready?" Came a small boy's voice._

_Alevia turned and gasped._

_At first the child looked completely normal. Pointed ears, tanned skin and red hair. He wore a green tunic that stretched to his knees-odd, not very many colors like that were worn in Camalia-brown pants and boots. He was tiny, more of a toddler ,really._

_But there was something off. His eyes. They were green, no emerald. Like a...like a mortal._

_Suddenly it hit her. One of mortal heritage. This was one of the prophesied ones. Or was it a prophecy at all? But it didn't matter._

_Alevia whipped around, mahogany eyes glaring at her friend who cowered in the corner._

_"What have you done?"_

His mother was outcasted but it was not one year later that his sister, Wenda, was born but with blue eyes.

Camalians were all very angry and the Council forbid Alevia to go anywhere near the 'filthy mundane breeder' as it was bad for the new princess. They probably would have executed his mother but she died three days later from excessive bleeding from childbirth.

Against the Council's bane, Queen Alevia took him and his sister in and gave them to Saro, who had always wanted children but could unfortunately not.

Pan'nuck was forever grateful to Jaenirra's mother. He enlisted to become a guard at two hundred and a half, which is somewhat close to him being twelve. And then Jaenirra's mother died and the three children became official orphans, lest they find their fathers but Pan'nuck knew he never would. His father and Wenda's father were long gone in ash and dust.

The boy sighed and pulled long-sleeved, green shirt and slipping it on. He would never fit in in Camalia but at least here, at the Pole with the rest of the Guardians, they understood his pain just right.

Pan'nuck closed the wardrobe door, grabbing his belt of knives before striding out into the industrious hallways of North's workshops. Skirting around a yeti driving a forklift and dodging a dodgeball practice shooting range, he stepped out into North's globe room. In the center of the Guardian symbol stood Bunnymund, Tooth and Sandy, all huddled together.

As he got closer he could hear Bunny say not so quietly, "Now I like Jaenirra as much as the next bloke bu' we can't afford to 'ave 'er runnin' aroun' an' hittin' people with fireballs. I'm wonderin' if it's even worth the effort of fightin' Pitch when she can't even stop fightin' Jack or the rest of us."

Pan'nuck cleared his throat. The trio whirled around to face the guard. Tooth immediately blushed before mumbling something about business with teeth and flying off with a couple of her fairies. Sandy simply waved cheerily but the Easter Bunny looked worst of all.

"Pan," He spluttered. " 'ow long 'ave you been standin' there mate?"

Pan'nuck smirked and casually walked over to him. "First of all, it's Pan'nuck with a 'nuck and second of all," He flicked Bunny playfully on his furry nose. "Just long enough Kangaroo."

Bunnymund's fur bristled with rage and reached behind his back to grab one of his bommerangs but then thought better of it. Pan'nuck would not allow anybody to speak badly of Jaenirra. She was his Queen, not to mention friend. Plus, he had a rack of some pretty nasty knives and though boomerangs were still good weapons to have, Bunnymund was not betting a block of wood against a pissed-off guy with blades.

The pooka turned away and stared at Jaenirra and Jack who zig-zagged across the workshop, Jaenirra screaming with her green mohawk and waving her sword after the winter spirit.

Pan'nuck almost couldn't suppress the chuckle that came out. They were getting along so well with doing each others hair and playing tag, not to mention glaring at each other for long periods of time.

Oh, it was like they were made for each other.

Pan'nuck felt a tap on his elbow. He turned to find Sandy offering him some sort white drink in a yellow chalice.

"Oh, thanks, Goldy." He took the cup and stared down at the drink inside. What was the stuff? He looked back down at Sandy who nodded encouragingly and gave him thumbs up.

Cautiously, Pan'nuck took a sip and immediately gagged.

"What the hell is this stuff?" He held it at arms length. It tasted like thick milk that had expired about two centuries ago. In other words, it tasted like crap.

"Eggnog." Bunnymund replied. The bunny held his own cup and sniffed at it before gagging as well. "That's been sittin' in the sun for more than three days."

An elf walked by, carrying a plate of more similar cups. Bunnymund placed the spoiled eggnog onto the tray, as did Pan'nuck.

"I'm never drinking anything ever again." The elf deadpanned and then shuddered. "I'll die from dehydration and then I'll go to Hell or whatever and then I'll drink spirit water, which doesn't taste like anything. Right?"

Sandy shrugged and Bunnymund simply shrugged, saying. "Do I look dead to you, mate?"

Just then, Varden trotted in and sat next to Pan'nuck.

"Hey, buddy." The green-eyed elf scratched the dragon behind the ear. Varden let out a rumble which Pan'nuck knew was purring.

The three men and dragon continued to watch Jaenirra chase Jack. She chucked a stream of flame at him but the boy simply dodged and sprinted off. The fire accidently lit a Yeti on fire. The Yeti proceeded to run around spastically, waving his arms and generally setting more things on fire.

"Where's North in all of this?" Pan'nuck asked. Sandy shrugged but Bunny replied.

"Bloke said somethin' abou' gettin' back ta work and waitin' 'til Pitch struck first."

"Oh. Wait there he is." Sure enough, the large, Russian man was shouting at elves to help clean the fire that was really, very small but Pan'nuck guessed that they weren't used to fires up here at the North Pole. In Camalia, if anything wasn't fireproof, it burn in about two minutes.

Pan'nuck sighed and stretched out his arms over his head. "I'm so bored." He let his hands drop onto his forehead. There was nothing to do here. It wasn't Camalia or the Palace or Helicon. He basically knew nobody here. Sure, he had heard of the Guardians and he had even met Tooth once but that was the one time that she had come to give a couple of forgotten memories of some long lost musician who nobody remembered. Apparently, he was a genius and wrote great music. Tooth had found his teeth tucked away in the Austrian sector and though it was against her rules, she took a peek at his memories and immediately went to Jaenirra. Jaenirra took the memories and turned them into ideas and planted them into some guys head named Mozzarella.

Or was it Mozart?

Anyway, he wasn't really familiar with any of them accept Jack and Jaenirra but that didn't count. He saw the two rivals on a regular basis.

Speaking of seeing regularly, where was Jaenirra and Jack? Pan'nuck looked around, his ears tingling. Something was up. He walked over to the railing next to the globe and scanned the many levels of work shops. The duo weren't high in the rafters nor down below in what looked like a bakery.

Huh.

"Hey, guys." Pan'nuck called. "Do you know where Frost and the Lady are?"

"Na, mate. They're probably somewhere in the back of the Palace." Bunnymund snorted. "Don' worry."

"Okay," Pan'nuck sounded unconvinced and frowned, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm gonna go check anyway. Sandy, you coming?"

The Guardian of Dreams nodded excitedly and followed after Pan'nuck in the hallways, Varden was not far behind.

"Hmm." Pan'nuck mused as he shut yet another door. "Where are they?" The trio had been looking for, like, an hour.

Okay, that was an exaggeration but it had been awhile. After looking through at least a hundred different workshops-you wouldn't believe how many people wanted banjos for Christmas-Pan'nuck was getting tired. Even Sandy's usually excited attitude was looking weak. Varden looked like he was about to pass out.

Suddenly, a light bulb appeared above Sandman's head. He tugged at Pan'nuck's sleeve.

"Whatcha got Goldy?"

A cookie floated above Sandy's head, followed by two people taking a bite out of either side.

"We've already looked in the bakery, like, three times. They're not in there."

The golden man seemed to deflate.

Pan'nuck rubbed his chin in a pondering way as they rounded yet another corner filled with more doors-seriously, how big was this place?

"Hmm. I wonder-" He though aloud but was cut off by a scream.

Jaenirra's scream.

Pan'nuck didn't even hesitate. He flew down the corridor, not caring that Sandy and Varden were being left in the dust. Another scream rippled through the hallways.

Good MiM, where was she? Where was she? He came to a two way.

Come on, come on, he prayed silently. Scream again. Well, don't scream again but tell me where you are.

The guard heard shouting coming from his left and immediately took off that way.

He ran passed a door and failed to notice it open up as he continued.

"Hey, Pan'nuck! Help me!" Pan'nuck skidded to a halt and turned.

It was Jack, dragging an unconscious Jaenirra out of a room on his shoulder.

Oh MiM, Jaenirra. Her eyes were closed and her head flopped uselessly as Jack readjusted her, awkwardly carrying both his staff and a deadweight girl.

"Pan'nuck, help. She started screaming and then just collapsed and started groaning something about apples." Jack repeated his plea for Pan'nuck's help.

Pan'nuck shook his head as if coming out of a dream and rushed over.

"Put her on the ground." He instructed and Jack obeyed, dropping Jaenirra on the ground unceremoniously. Pan'nuck glared at the winter sprite.

"What?" Jack protested and rolling his shoulder out. "She was getting heavy."

Pan'nuck just ignored him and turned to Jaenirra. She didn't look so good. Her forehead was sweaty and when he touched her forehead, he was surprised to find it hot, like she was running a fever or something.

"Jaenirra, hey, Jaenirra." Pan'nuck gently shook her shoulder.

The girl groaned and blinked open her eyes before crumbling back into herself and moaning in pain.

"Jaenirra, what's wrong?" Pan'nuck completely forgot about Jack and pulled her head into his lap and stroked her hair. Or at least he tried to with her green mohawk and all.

"Ow," She winced and clutched her head. "Apples."

"What?" Had she completely lost it.

"Apples, damn it. Get me a MiM damn apple."

"Oh, oh right." He reached to his belt and pulled out an emergency golden apple from a pouch. The golden apples had healing properties but why would Jaenirra need one?

Before he could say anything else, she ripped it from his hand and took a large bite out of it. As she chewed, relief seem to fill up her face and she smiled as she took in the sweetness of the apple's flesh. Slowly, and with the help of Pan'nuck, she stood up. Her mohawk was crumbled to the side.

"Um, what was all that about?" Jack's eyes darted from the apple in Jaenirra's hand to her to Pan'nuck.

"I can sense it when people need comfort," She explained calmly to Jack. Pan'nuck was taken back. Since when was she on such friendly terms with the winter sprite? "Sometimes I get extremely painful headaches when there are large masses of people seeking comfort all at the same time. It can happen with childbirth and stuff, so maybe it was just that. Besides, it's almost the beginning of spring which means I'll get like ten more or these." She moaned and pressed a hand to her head before stopping and glaring at Jack. "But I guess there won't be a spring this year with all this snow."

There's the Jaenirra Pan'nuck knew, just as hateful to Jack as ever.

But the white-haired boy simply gave her a wide grin and said. "Hey, it's what I do." He took a bow and then walked over to the two Camalians.

Plucking the golden apple from Jaenirra's hand, he turned it over, inspecting it thoroughly. "But you never explained to me why you need an apple to cure a headache."

Pan'nuck butted in, not wanting Jaenirra to say anything that would have them start fighting again. "The apples are from Camalia and they hold special healing properties. Taking one bite can get rid of poisons or stomach aches and headaches and other small stuff like that."

Jack grinned evilly. "So what if I take two bites?" Jack raised the apple to his lips.

Before Pan'nuck could do anything, Jaenirra shot forward and smacked the fruit from Jack's hand.

"You can't, it's poisoned!" She seemed to quake, as if having just experiencing her worst nightmare. "One bite heals a life, two bites steal a life." She said, reciting a long told rhyme about the dangers of eating a Camalian apple.

"Oh." Jack murmured.

Just then, the trio heard loud thumping noise coming from around the corner.

North, Sandy and Bunnymund appeared along with Varden.

"We've got trouble, mates." Bunnymung panted. "Pitch is attacking the Tooth Palace."

"Oh," Jaenirra whispered. "I guess it wasn't a baby boom after all."

* * *

**And they're off to fight Pitch. YAY! Now I know I said I was discontinuing the story for the holidays but I had so much time I decided to finish the newest chapter. It may not be grammatically correct so please don't hate.**

**This story had a bit of foreshadowing, so yeah. Hope you liked it and don't forget to review!**

**Thanks!**

***BIG hug* **


	10. Chapter 10

**THIS IS NOT A NEW CHAPTER! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A NEW CHAPTER!**

**Okay, so after already scaring off half of you, I'd like to say thank you for all of your kind support in helping my write a majority of my story.**

**In all honesty, I probably wouldn't have made it to the fourth chapter if it hadn't been for you guys. So thanks.**

**Unfortunately, my imagination runs dry after about a couple pages of writing a story so if I ever do post a tenth chapter, don't expect it to be anytime soon.**

**But if you would like to see what I've been up to for the past - what is it? - two months? **

**You can go and check out My Name Is Kida's ROTG forum called Guardian School. **

**It should be at the very top of the ROTG forum page.**

**I've been RPing with a group of amazing authors and most of the topics are full of Jaenirra and Pan'nuck awesomeness so if your thirst for these two Camalians can not be quenched by a meager set of nine chapters, feel free to stop by there and scroll through some of the topics.**

**Jaenirra and Pan'nuck can be mostly in the Summer Time, The Quest for the Nine Demon Weapons and Backup RP.**

**If you don't want to read it and simply would like to join the forum, that's perfectly fine. We need a fresh new spin on are RPs anyway.**

**So that's it but if you really would like me to continue just review or PM me, it's all crash.**

**Thanks again for all of your awesome support, this is Emberlywoods12 signing out. (Hopefully not for the last time.)**

***Hugs* =)**


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